ADHS reports more than 220 COVID vaccines wasted

PHOENIX (KYMA, KECY) - The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) said more than 220 COVID vaccines are once again wasted or spoiled.

AzFamily obtained documents showing 228 vaccines had been wasted throughout the state. The report shows Yuma Regional Medical Center had 20 doses lost or unaccounted for.

However, ADHS says it's not aware of vaccine doses being expired before being administered, adding "this type of waste is unacceptable."

This time around, La Paz Health Department reported 100 doses were spoiled.

Earlier this month, 553 doses were wasted in five different distribution sites.

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A spokesperson for La Paz County Health Department, Jamie Enriquez, tells AzFamily, "We received our first shipment of the Moderna vaccine. In the shipment, there was a tag alert, and that is a temperature monitoring device for the vaccine."

Enriquez adds, "So immediately upon receiving the vaccine, I put it in the freezer, marked it as do not use, and reached out to the state health department. The state health department reached out to the CDC and to the manufacturer. It was decided that it was a temp excursion and the vaccine was not usable."