890 COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Ruined By Ohio Firm: ODH

COLUMBUS, OH — Nearly 900 COVID-19 vaccine doses were lost after a company mishandled their storage, the Ohio Department of Health announced.

Columbus-based SpecialtyRX received 1,500 doses of the Moderna vaccine in 2020. It was to administer the vaccines to residents at eight long-term care facilities before Jan. 1.

SpecialtyX had 890 doses of the vaccine left after administering the first ones, the department said. The firm considered transferring the doses to another provider, but discovered it had failed to monitor temperatures in its refrigerator and freezer.

State officials immediately launched an investigation and determined that all 890 doses were no longer usable.

"The first doses of the Moderna vaccine that were administered to the residents and staff of the long-term care facilities were viable. For the second dose, the long-term care facilities will have to coordinate with another provider, which will likely be the local health department," the Department of Health said in an emailed statement.

All future COVID-19 vaccine allocations to SpecialtyRX were halted, and the firm has been told not to administer or transfer any of the affected doses. Instead, the 890 doses must be quarantined until next steps are determined.

Department of Health officials said they require all COVID-19 vaccine providers to check and record the minimum and maximum temperatures of cold storage refrigerators or freezers every work day.

SpecialtyRX did not immediately respond to two messages from Patch for comment.