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View Winners → Counties, Cities Question Discarded Ampoules of Covid-19 Vaccine
Monrovia Weekly Jan 21, 2021
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Officials Struggle to get more Vaccine supplies Nationwide
By Terry Miller
According to several news reports, originally posted onTMZ.com last week, L.A. County Dept. of Public Health is allegedly allowingsome clinics to throw unused vaccines in the trash “rather than inoculatethousands of residents who are desperate to get the shot.” According to some,this has enraged at least one county leader who is on a mission to reverse thispolicy. L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn allegedly reacted thesituation where a clinic administering the vaccine to health care workers endedthe day with 150 unused vials of the COVID vaccine that were about to spoil …because a huge number of people who signed up were no shows,”
“The clinic — the Men’s Health Foundation in Inglewood —contacted people who were not on the priority list but desperately wanted thevaccine, and these folks gotthe remaining doses. Incredibly, that runs afoul of the County HealthDept’s guidelines, which say ONLY people on the priority list should be vaccinated,EVEN IF THE VACCINES WOULD OTHERWISE END UP IN THE TRASH,” according to TMZ.
There have also been some reports of a pharmacist allegedly deliberately rendering some of the vaccines useless by keeping them out of cold storage for too long. A Milwaukee pharmacist was arrested last Thursday and accused of “tampering with and causing the destruction” of more than 550 doses of the Moderna vaccine against the coronavirus last week, Grafton, Wis., police confirmed, according to a report on NPR.
Officials said that in a written statement to Aurora Healthpublic safety officials, the pharmacist responsible admitted “tointentionally removing the vaccine knowing that if not properly stored thevaccine would be ineffective.”
The Moderna vials must be stored between 36 to 46 degreesFahrenheit. They can remain effective for up to 12 hours if left at roomtemperature. Beyond that, the drug is rendered useless. The value of the spoiled doses is estimated to be between $8,000and $11,000.
Beacon Media contacted the county for a statement regarding thealleged ampoules waste.
“The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health does notcondone wasting of any precious vaccine doses and has not and is not directingproviders to throw away unused doses. In fact, we have moved swiftly to set upvaccine clinics on quick turnaround whenever we have learned of potentialvaccine expirations.
Although the priority now is to vaccinate frontlinehealthcare workers and residents in long-term health facilities, Los AngelesCounty has allowed for exceptions in the vaccination plan to be made in orderto prevent any vaccine wastage, as is detailed on page 8 of thedepartment’s guidance.
The Department of Public Health will investigate any reportsof vaccine waste or misuse. Anyone with information about waste or misuseshould email covidvax@ph.lacounty.gov.
Los Angeles County is committed to vaccinating everyresident who wants to be protected from this deadly virus and is working withhundreds of partners to ramp up operations for mass vaccination distribution toeligible groups of residents.
For up-to-date information, visit VaccinateLACounty.com
Last week L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose FourthDistrict includes several beach cities, said in an interview with the Los AngelesTimes that she was frustrated about the lack of a comprehensive vaccine rolloutplan — whichshe asked the county public health department to create in September —and overall, that more doses aren’t going to residents who need them.
“We’ve still given out less than half of our vaccines thathave been allocated to us, and that is unacceptable to me,” Hahn said.
As an aside to the distribution of the vaccine, businesses are still hurting, especially restaurants. There’s no way to sugarcoat the impact of the pandemic virus on the restaurant industry.
In a Dec. 7 report, the National Restaurant Association saidthe industry was in “free fall,” with more than 110,000 restaurants closing since thestart of Covid-19. Food-service revenue plunged an estimated $240 billion by the end of the year andrestaurant staffing jobs fell 2 million below pre-pandemic levels, the NRAsaid, according to a report in Bloomberg News.
One Monrovia restaurant owner, who requested anonymity, said the county health director, Barbara Ferrer is not qualified to be in charge of the dept. pointing out that she is not an M.D. and not trained in virology, “ I believe Ferrer’s PhD doesn’t warrant the decision making that has so deeply affected our businesses…,” the restauranter told Beacon Media.
“She’s a social worker, how can she be put in such a position of power without medical knowlege?” the restauranteur said.
Monrovia City Manager, Dylan Feik pointed out someinteresting facts: “The County’s revised Health Order (dated 12/30/20) addressesoutdoor seating (item 8.N). It states “Outdoor seating is closed to thepublic.” I believe this may have been issued in response to the approachPasadena is using where restaurants do not serve customers at the outdoorseating areas but nothing prohibited patrons from grabbing meals to go and thensimply eating meals outdoors.
We used the same approach for the months of Nov./Dec. anddid not require merchants to move tables/chairs. Now, they can get cited by theCounty for allowing outdoor seating.
As for business support, I wish there was more we could do.We continue to lobby for State and Federal Aid and use city staff to helppromote and market Old Town. Many folks have asked about local financialsupport and Monrovia is simply too small to do anything meaningful. I think thekey message is to “shop local, even if it’s takeout or delivery.”
In addition, Dylan Feik told Monrovia Weekly Monday that thecity will “keep focused on setting up sites/clinics for vaccinedistribution…hopefully that’s not too far out.”
The Mayor of Pasadena, Victor Gordo has requested the statelook into the possibility of utilizing the Rose Bowl for a major vaccinedistribution center which could really help all our communities.
It has been a long-held belief that restaurants have beenunfairly targeted during the pandemic. Numerous lawsuits are pendingquestioning the figures/statistics in an effort to at least allow outdoordining again. Scientists and otherprofessionals point out restaurants pose less of a threat of coronavirustransmission than supermarkets or other stores where large groups of people areunder one roof.
Supervisor Barger told Beacon Media Monday that “efficientand effective distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine to our residents andcommunities is the most critical hurdle in our ability to recover from thisvirus,” said Supervisor Barger. “While we continue to prioritize the vaccinationof healthcare workers who have been on the frontlines caring for our vulnerableresidents, we must add flexibility to this process and begin efforts tovaccinate those 65 and older.”
While no evidence has been forthcoming, Los Angeles CountySupervisor Janice Hahn said last week that she has not heard of any cases ofCOVID-19 vaccine doses being thrown away at this point, but said she and hercolleagues want to make sure it does not happen.
“It would be criminal if we found any doses that were thrownin a garbage bin behind one of these clinics,” she told CBC news last week.
