Hundreds of nursing home residents and staff members at a New York facility were unable to get the coronavirus vaccine this week after many doses were lost due to temperature control issues.
About 257 residents and some of the 250 workers at the Valley View Center for Nursing Care and Rehabilitation in Goshen, NY, were set to receive their first shots of the Pfizer vaccine from CVS Health Monday but those plans changed after pharmacists arrived at the facility, according to a report by the NY Post.
“The pharmacist running it told me they had lost some doses of the vaccine in one of their storage facilities due to temperature control issues. They did attempt to get additional vaccine doses [but] couldn’t get them,” Administrator Laurence LaDue said.
The Pfizer vaccine requires ultra-cold temperatures during shipping and storage, and must be used within days once refrigerated.
“Obviously, I was a little disappointed. The plan for our first vaccine clinic was to administer it to all the residents in-house and a portion of the staff and obviously, we weren’t able to do that,” LaDue added.
Instead of a full round, doses were administered to 132 residents and 56 staff members. Its next vaccine clinic is set for Jan. 18.
“Despite not getting the number of doses that we wanted, it was a magnificent day for Valley View and we were extremely happy to have some of our residents and staff receive the vaccine,” LaDue said.
