34 Vaccine Doses Spoil at Wisconsin Center

The Milwaukee Health Department ran into trouble at its COVID-19 clinic on Monday, March 1st.

The city prepared more doses of the Moderna variant of the vaccine than there were eligible people to take them. As a result, 34 perishable doses expired at the city’s mass vaccination clinic at the Wisconsin Center.

This, however, was a reduction from the 140 doses the health department had expected to waste. The department said it “rushed” to contact unscheduled, but eligible vaccine recipients.

In a press release, the city cast some blame on state Department of Health Services instructions and those getting vaccinated. “The situation that led to the error was complicated by the instruction to give only Pfizer vaccine to teachers vaccinated on Monday. Also, a number of teachers scheduled appointments on Monday without identifying themselves as teachers until arriving at the vaccination site,” said the department in a statement.

The department said this is the first time any doses have gone unused at its clinic. March 1st was the first day teachers were eligible to receive the vaccine.

“It is clear at this stage that no intentional or malicious action was involved in the incident,” said the department. “Process changes have already been implemented to prevent a repetition.”

A total of 1,058 doses of the vaccine, including both the Moderna and Pfizer variants, were administered Monday. More than 25,000 doses have been administered at the facility since it opened in January.

New Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson was scheduled to start Monday. She replaces interim commissioner Marlaina Jackson who is returning to her role as deputy commissioner of community health.