75 doses of Pfizer vaccine tossed out after overheating during transport in New Mexico
CLAYTON, New Mexico — Seventy-five doses of the coveted Pfizer coronavirus vaccine were discarded after they experienced a “temperature excursion” during transport to Clayton, state officials told ABC affiliate KOAT on Wednesday.
The shipment was one of 18 sent to hospitals around the state from the New Mexico Department of Health warehouse on Tuesday.
According to a state spokesman, the overheating was likely due to a “malfunction of the digital data logger.”
"In light of the malfunction, and without the ability in this case to verify the accuracy of the vaccine's temperature with a high level of confidence during transport, it was decided in the interests of safety to discard the product," according to Matt Nerzig, a spokesman for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
In order to prevent a similar incident, the state said it was conducting a review of the incident and would take the following immediate steps:
- Immunization personnel will be on call and available by cell phone each day throughout the transport process.
- The temperature range on the digital data loggers will be narrowed and an alarm will trigger just before going out of range. This will allow transport team to respond in a timely manner.
- Those involved in the transport efforts will visit the health department warehouse to review processes and to make sure proper placement of digital data loggers.
