More than 120 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine have been discarded after a storage error at a Melbourne aged care centre.
Aspen Medical confirmed doses at the St Vincent’s Care Services Aged Care Centre in west Melbourne had potentially been compromised due to the storage issue.
A statement from the Health Department said 25 multi-dose vials were discarded out of an “abundance of caution”.
Once opened, the Pfizer vaccine must be stored between 2-8C for up to five days.
“While refrigeration was maintained, it was not possible to verify that temperature was maintained throughout,” the statement said.
“A medical decision was made not to use the remaining vials.”
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Aspen was responsible for administering doses at the Werribee centre.
It referred questions to the federal government.
The Health Department thanked an Aspen worker who had “responded resourcefully and took action to ensure both use of the vaccines and protection of the integrity of the unused vials”.
It said the doses accounted for just 0.15 per cent of those administered in the first week of the rollout, describing that rate as “far lower” than expected.
News.com.au contacted a spokesperson for Health Minister Greg Hunt about reports vials had been discarded on Friday morning, but were told it was untrue.
It is the second vaccination bungle in less than a week since Australia’s rollout began, after two elderly vaccine recipients were given four times the recommended dosage in Queensland this week.
It was subsequently revealed the doctor, employed by Healthcare Australia (HCA), had not completed required online training before administering the doses.
Neither recipient, a 94-year old woman and an 88-year old man, suffered ill effects from the high-dosage, which was similar to some administered during clinical trials.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday 23,000 Australians had already been vaccinated, but conceded there would be “logistical issues ... (in) the early days” of the rollout.
“Where issues arise, they are quickly dealt with. They’re identified, they’re worked through. You’d expect that with any vaccination programme of this scale,” he said.
“Where things don’t go completely to plan, they’re quickly addressed, as you’ve seen happen this this week.”
HCA CEO Jason Cartwright agreed to step aside over the Queensland incident on Thursday as an internal review and Health Department investigation was conducted.
The federal government was enraged by the bungle, with deputy chief medical officer Michael Kidd describing the incident as a “unacceptable” and a “serious error”.
“This error should not have happened and we apologise to the residents and their families and the carers at the facility for the distress that this has caused,” he said.
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2021-02-26 06:45:00Z
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