More than 300 patients given Pfizer Covid-19 doses that were frozen too long at 2 California vaccination sites

By CBSLA Staff

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    MORENO VALLEY, California (KCBS, KCAL) — Hundreds of people at two Riverside County community centers mistakenly received Pfizer COVID-19 doses that were frozen longer than manufacturer recommendations, according to Riverside University Health System officials.

Staff discovered on Tuesday that the vaccine doses had been administered to 324 patients in Jurupa Valley on Mission Boulevard between Oct. 8 and Nov. 23, and Riverside Neighborhood Clinic on Indiana Avenue between Oct. 23 and Nov. 23, health officials said.

The doses in question were found to have been stored in the freezer longer than manufacturer recommendation. In spite of their “improper storage from freezer to refrigeration to administration,” the doses do not pose a danger to patients. However, the doses may have lost their potency, and officials say the CDC recommends these patients get a repeat dose as soon as possible.

Riverside University Health System staff is reaching out to the impacted patients, and implementing measures to prevent this incident from happening again. Officials say patients who received a Pfizer at these locations, but are not contacted by staff, are not impacted by this storage issue.

However, people who are concerned that they received their doses at these locations during these time frames can call (800) 945-6171.

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