Interior Health (IH) says 516 doses of COVID-19 vaccines delivered in Revelstoke will need to be redone after the health authority discovered the doses were not properly refrigerated.
In an Aug. 24 statement, IH said the doses were stored in an “incorrect” freezer. “The vaccine had been administered as 15 first doses and 501 second doses in the community and although it may have provided some protection from COVID-19, Interior Health is contacting each client individually to offer another dose,” IH stated.
The health authority says the “invalid doses” of the vaccine, “does not pose risk to the client and fortunately none of these individuals have contracted COIVD-19 since their immunization.”
IH said it will be contacting people who received the invalid doses.
IH said the situation was “unfortunate,” and it “encourage[s] everyone impacted to re-book their immunization once contacted by Interior Health.” It said the situation “demonstrates our monitoring and surveillance systems are working,” and that “additional precautions” have been implemented.
Update: IH provides time window, but emphasizes only a portion of doses during the period were invalid
IH did not originally provide dates the invalid doses were administered. In response to our question, IH said the doses were administered between July 9-30, but stressed that only a portion of the doses administered during that window are deemed “invalid.”