Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Worries Over Ultra-Low Temperature Requirement Of Vaccines Play Out
When a freezer that was used to store the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at a Northern California hospital broke, officials soon realized they only had about two hours to administer the more than 800 doses that were inside. And they took on the challenge. (Chan and Maxouris, 1/6)
A refrigerator holding vials of coronavirus vaccine failed at Ukiah Valley Medical Center on Monday, prompting a frantic effort to inoculate hundreds of people in less than three hours before the medicine expired. By the time staff discovered the problem, 830 doses of the Moderna vaccine had been thawing for more than nine hours, Ukiah Valley Medical Center chief medical officer Dr. Bessant Parker said. The medical center had little choice but to distribute the vaccine freely and rapidly, including members of the general public who heard about the emergency and lined up outside the medical center in hopes of getting a shot. (Barber, 1/4)
An upstate nursing home that was expecting all residents and some staff to get the coronavirus vaccine on Monday says many had to go without 鈥 because CVS had 鈥渓ost鈥 doses due to 鈥渢emperature control issues.鈥 (Hogan, 1/5)
Also 鈥
Technical problems are already hampering the early rollout of the coronavirus vaccine.聽Websites in multiple large Florida counties buckled from a surge of traffic in recent days as seniors attempted to book appointments for their vaccinations. Many were instead met with error messages. Outages were reported in Broward, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. (Zakrzewski, 1/5)
Website crashes and tech glitches are afflicting the U.S. coronavirus vaccine rollout that is already behind schedule based on the goals the Trump administration set out. Several counties in Florida experienced delays and website crashes on Monday, and the largest county in Texas had to take its website down as ineligible residents tried to book slots. (Klar, 1/5)
During a tense exchange with a CNN reporter on Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blamed the largest hospital operator in Southwest Florida聽for causing seniors in one county to wait in long lines and even camp overnight for access to COVID-19 vaccinations. (Gluck and Greenockle, 1/5)
