BY NICOLE ASBURY
Nearly 600 doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine have to be thrown out after a misunderstanding when the vaccines were being transferred, according to a news release from LMH Health Thursday.
Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health received 570 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in a refrigerated state last week. The doses were then transferred to LMH Health Wednesday.
LMH Health typically receives vaccines frozen, so the doses were placed in a freezer. But the vaccines had already thawed out.
Health officials reached out to Johnson & Johnson for guidance, said Brian Bradfield, LMH Health associate vice president of ancillary services. The company said the doses would have to be thrown out.
“At Johnson & Johnson’s request, we have contacted McKesson, who is overseeing distribution,” Bradfield said in a statement. “McKesson referred us [to] our state and local health department to coordinate replacement doses.”
About 23,400 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine were shipped into Kansas last week after approval from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Lee Norman said during a press conference. The 600 doses allotted to Douglas County were pulled from that shipment.
State health officials have previously said they are not expecting another shipment of the vaccine until March 23.
It’s uncertain if this is the only shipment Douglas County will receive of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine until then. Typically, there’s not a long period of advanced notice given to county health officials on the allotment of the COVID-19 vaccine they’ll receive, LMH Health spokeswoman Rebecca Smith said Thursday evening.
“We are always at the ready to be able to distribute whatever does come,” Smith said.
Douglas County health officials were still waiting for more information from the state government about potential allotments of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine Thursday evening.
The amount of doses ruined was a small percentage of vaccines Douglas County received, said LMH Health President & CEO Russ Johnson. On Wednesday, 3,100 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered at the Douglas County fairgrounds during a Phase 2 public health clinic.
A vaccination team will review what happened to refine the process in the future, Johnson said.
“Although this is a small percentage of the overall vaccines that the county has received, we know it is not insignificant—this is a heart wrenching situation for our hospital, our Phase 2 community members and our Unified Command partners,” Johnson said.
Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health and LMH Health are working to reschedule vaccination appointments.
During a speech Thursday evening, President Joe Biden called for every U.S. adult to be eligible for the vaccine by May 1, with a goal to be “closer to normal” by the Fourth of July holiday.
Kansas remains in Phase 2 of its statewide vaccine distribution plan, which prioritizes those living in large communal situations, senior citizens and state-designated essential workers.
On Thursday, there were 234 active cases of COVID-19 in Douglas County. More than 25,000 Douglas County residents have received at least one dose of vaccine so far.
Reach reporter Nicole Asbury at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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