Springfield Hospital’s Friday Covid vaccine clinic to be held as scheduled

By Cynthia Prairie
©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Springfield Hospital’s Covid-19 vaccination clinic for “Priority Group 1A,” made up of health care workers and front line staff, set for Friday, Jan. 29, will take place as scheduled, spokeswoman Anna Smith said on Thursday.

“We have a new supply of vaccine arriving for this clinic,” Smith said in an email to The Telegraph. “All participants who were previously scheduled for Friday, January 29th, should report to Springfield Hospital as scheduled.”

That clinic and one scheduled for next Tuesday were thrown into doubt when one of three vaccine refrigerator monitors holding 860 Moderna doses registered 1.1 degree celsius above the highest temperature recommended by the manufacturer, which is 8 degrees. The other two registered below 8 degrees.  The one registering higher is owned by the state, while the other two belong to the hospital.

“We have two different sets of data that don’t align and because of that we halted the clinic, as unfortunate as it is,” Smith said at the time.

Once the hospital discovered the problem, it canceled Wednesday’s scheduled clinic, turning away 240 people, some who were set to receive their second dose of the Moderna vaccine.

As the hospital and the state investigate the three monitors, the 860 doses have been kept in refrigeration. If the state’s monitor is correct, the doses will be disposed of.  “We are awaiting guidance related to the 860 doses being held pending investigation into the temperature monitor variation,” Smith wrote.

As for those whose appointments were canceled on Wednesday, Jan. 27, Smith says they will be contacted as soon as the hospital finalizes those plans.

Those receiving the 2nd dosage are especially concerned since Moderna recommends a 28-day interval between the first and the second dose.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, “The second dose should be administered as close to the recommended interval as possible. However, if it is not feasible to adhere to the recommended interval, the second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines may be scheduled for administration up to 6 weeks (42 days) after the first dose.“