To Get Leftover Vaccines In Hawaii, It Helps To Be Related To A Hospital Employee…In the absence of official guidance on how to distribute extra COVID-19 vaccines, two Hawaii hospitals are prioritizing employees’ families.
Leftover COVID-19 vaccines are raising ethical quandaries for Hawaii hospitals as they race to get as many shots in arms as possible to bring a long-awaited end to the year-old coronavirus pandemic.
The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have to be stored at a certain temperature, and at the end of each day, vaccination sites sometimes have a handful of extra doses from open vials that must be used or go to waste. Nationwide, vaccination sites are grappling with what to do with leftover doses, sometimes giving them to whomever happens to be nearby.
Hawaii hospitals and pharmacies are developing their own strategies for dealing with the rare leftover doses to avoid hopeful patients lining up outside.
