LAKEWOOD, Colo. — 165 doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine were lost in a power outage at a Kaiser Permanente facility in Lakewood Thursday.
High winds prompted power outages across the city overnight, said a statement from the healthcare provider.
The statement said that the outages included Kaiser Permanente's Lakewood medical offices, where a refrigerator storing the doses temporarily stopped working. That caused the vaccines to exceed their recommended storage temperature, according to the statement.
Kaiser Permanente notified state health officials immediately, the statement said, and they worked throughout the day to administer as many doses of the vaccine as possible.
The statement said the 135 doses administered were safe and viable in accordance with recommendations from the Moderna vaccine distributor.
Power has been restored to the facility, the statement said, and the refrigerator is working properly again.
> Above video: How Colorado is doing with vaccine distribution
Kaiser Permanente said the facility does not have a backup generator. Still, they are conducting a thorough review, including the potential of adding an emergency backup power source to that location.
Last week, hundreds of vaccine doses were tossed out in Pueblo County, after a portable storage unit malfunctioned. KRDO reports the vaccines were being transported from the Pueblo County Health Department to a Pueblo Fire Station to vaccinate first responders.
After seeking guidance from state health officials and Pfizer, Pueblo Health officials told KRDO they "aired on the side of safety" and decided not to use the 300 doses of the vaccine.
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