Up to 2,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses being wasted each week, state says
State Department of Health Services wants vaccinators to keep up efforts
State Department of Health Services wants vaccinators to keep up efforts
State Department of Health Services wants vaccinators to keep up efforts
In just a few months, the state has gone from people fighting to get a vaccine to vaccinators pleading for people to step up for one for fear the doses will be wasted.
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The state revealed between 1,000 and 2,000 doses are now being wasted every week.
Despite the waste, the state doesn't want to slow down its efforts.
But the state said it's telling vaccinators not to let up for fear of spoiling a dose.
"Absolutely. We do not want to waste a single dose," Hayat pharmacist Lauren Splawn said.
Milwaukee's Hayat Pharmacy has administered more than 30,000 vaccine doses, but as demand slows has scaled back to filling just a syringe or two at a time.
As clinics get smaller, there are fewer people to take any extra doses once they tap into a new vial, which contains between five and 10 doses.
"And then our process after that would be to bring it back to any clinic that we have currently going and sometimes we have pharmacies staying open later, and we'll have them try to use those doses," Splawn said.
"The likelihood that those doses will be wasted is increasing," Wisconsin Department of Health Services Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk said.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has been keeping track and told WISN 12 since vaccination efforts began, 4,500 doses have been wasted, but that's now rising to 1,000 to 2,000 lost doses per week.
"This has been a challenging vaccine to administer, both because of the fragility of the vaccine, the storage requirements and the multiple doses per vial," Willems Van Dijk said.
Still, the Department of Health Services' guidance to vaccinators is simple.
"Use every dose as possible as they can, but also please don't waste opportunities if you have someone who wants to be vaccinated in front of you, puncture a vial, get a dose out and get that person vaccinated," Willem Van Dijk said.
Vaccinators said, at least in the short term, the expected approval of the Pfizer vaccine for children 12 and up could result in less waste since the demand will spike with a new age group becoming eligible
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