Doses of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine that were held at the wrong temperature during transportation were given to about 1,000 people in Sweden, the pharmacy company distributing the shots said on Friday.
A total of 2,100 vaccine doses – about 20 per cent of what Sweden has received from Moderna so far – have been held at too low a temperature, and the shots not yet administered have been set aside pending clarification as to whether they will be spoiled as a result, Apoteket said.
It said that all of the individuals given doses from the defective delivery are healthcare professionals.
“According to the Swedish health authority’s preliminary assessment, there is no indication that the doses transported in too low a temperature entail any health risk,” Apoteket said in an emailed statement.
Nevertheless, Magnus Frisk, a spokesman for Apoteket, said that Sweden’s health authority and pharmaceutical watchdog are further investigating the matter, adding: “One other thing we need to know is whether the vaccine doses already given will work.”
For more details on the impact of doses being held at too low a temperature and whether the individuals given those doses wanted another shot of the vaccine, Frisk said the agencies had contacted Moderna.
The doses affected that have not been given are accounted for and will not be used, he said.
Sweden had vaccinated 146,000 individuals as of Jan. 17, most of whom were given the Pfizer-BioNTech injection.