Nearly 6,000 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses were close to spoiling due to a dysfunctional fridge at Aliso Viejo’s Soka University super point of dispensing vaccination site on Feb. 10.
Pharmacists became aware of the fridge functioning outside of the recommended temperature range at approximately 4:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.
“After reviewing the details, the manufacturer advised that the temperature variance did not harm the vaccine’s safety or efficacy and provided confirmation that the vaccine is safe to dispense under the normal protocol,” county officials said in a written statement.
While Orange County’s Third District Supervisor Don Wagner and Fifth District Supervisor Lisa Bartlett do not believe the incident was due to malfeasance, the OC Sheriff’s Department looked into the incident. On the Wednesday of the fridge malfunction, no rescheduling was needed for vaccinations since additional doses were available for those with appointments. OC spokeswoman Molly Nichelson said that there would be “no disruption to [their] vaccination efforts.”
The Soka University vaccination site has dispensed approximately 3,000 doses each day since opening on Jan. 23. Their vaccine supplier Pfizer, which was founded in 1849, is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical corporations with headquarters in New York. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla along with other CEOs from other pharmaceutical corporations, such as AstraZeneca, BioNTech, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Moderna, Novavax and Sanofi, have pledged to safely produce the COVID-19 vaccine.
For Pfizer, the company promises to “[c]ontinue to adhere to high scientific and ethical standards regarding the conduct of clinical trials and the rigor of manufacturing processes.” They also pledge to make the “safety and well being of vaccinated individuals [their] top priority.” Pfizer maintains their commitment to having vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before it is released and distributed to the public, with the goal of providing COVID-19 vaccines “suitable for global access.”
Orange County receives approximately 37,000 vaccine doses a week, according to OC Health Officer Dr. Clayton Chau. However, vaccine shipment delays due to the recent influx of winter storms may force early closure of many Orange County vaccination sites.
“We’ve now administered 6.93 million vaccines. One month ago we reported 24k cases. Today: 6,798 cases. One month ago we reported 9.9% positivity rate. Today: 3.1%. Hospitalizations are down 39%. ICUs are down 35%. Progress,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a tweet on Feb. 20.
Liliana Huerta is a City News Intern for the 2021 winter quarter. She can be reached at lshuerta@uci.edu.
