Thousands of doses have ended up in the garbage.
The numbers might sound shocking and that’s because, well, they kind of are. According to WWLP.com, as of early May 2021, about 128,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been thrown in the garbage by CVS and Walgreens. News reports indicate most of the waste happened in connection with programs put in place to have the companies supply long term care facilities with the vaccines months ago. CVS says very few doses of coronavirus vaccine have been wasted at their retail locations across the US.
Why have so many been thrown out? The reasons are multiplicitous. In some cases transportation proved to be a problem, and at other times finding the right way to redirect unused doses was tricky. Sometimes, the reason was something else entirely but we aren’t really sure what.
Human error is bound to happen, and nobody is perfect. Unfortunately, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), these two companies wasted more vaccine doses than most US states combined.
Pfizer’s Freezing Problem
A vaccine isn’t like a bag of flour. It can’t sit in your cupboard for a year before you remember you were going to do some baking. They can expire rather quickly. It depends on how they are being stored. It was initially thought that Pfizer’s vaccine needed to be kept at an ultra cold temperature in order to remain usable. And when we say ‘ultra cold’, we mean it. It was thought Pfizer’s vaccine needed to be stored at about minus 70 degrees Celsius. (Scarf, anyone?) Obviously, this meant the vaccine required special ultra cold storage units to be transported and distributed.
Thankfully, Pfizer later changed its mind. The company stated their vaccine could be transported and stored at standard freezer temperatures and still remain viable. This freed up the high cost associated with subarctic temperatures. But the new rules weren’t a long term fix. The Pfizer coronavirus vaccine only remains viable for up to two weeks stored in a standard freezer. So, time is of the essence. It’s easy to see how this vaccine could go to waste if it is not administered in time.
Storing Moderna and AstraZeneca Vaccines
Moderna’s vaccine is a little more flexible from the start. It could always be moved around and stored by being kept in the same cold conditions as most vaccines. According to Moderna spokesperson Colleen Hussey who was in communication with NPR.org, the company developed ten other mRNA vaccine candidates to date, before coming up with its coronavirus vaccine. Along the way, Moderna learned to develop an mRNA vaccine that wouldn’t degrade at more moderate storage temperatures. Their vaccine can last for up to 30 days in a refrigerator at two to eight degrees celsius.
What about AstraZeneca? The British-based vaccine is not currently being used in the US. Elsewhere in the world it is being relied upon to end the pandemic. This vaccine does not use mRNA technology, and can be kept for up to 6 months in a fridge between two and eight degrees celsius. Unlike the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, it shouldn’t be frozen.
Short Shelf Life Once Opened or Thawed
One caveat in dealing with the coronavirus vaccines is that once the vials they come in are punctured, the contents need to be used up. Modern and AstraZeneca vaccines need to be used up within 6 hours of being opened. Pfizer vaccines need to be administered within 6 hours of being diluted. (The Pfizer vaccine is diluted with sodium chloride before being injected). If plans and needs change while preparing doses to be administered, each vial can quickly spoil.
At the time of this writing, over 150 million people in the US have received at least once dose of COVID-19 vaccine. This is to be congratulated. Canada is far behind this number, but efforts in vaccination are ramping up. While the vaccines wasted by Walgreens and CVS certainly could have been put to use around the world, domestically, it appears the loss of vaccine is overshadowed by the current success in stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus and hopefully things will continue to get better in the coming months. Stay safe and abide by your local health regulations.
photo credits: BCFC/Shutterstock.com
