China News Service, May 28. According to a report by the Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK), on the 27th, Yokohama, Japan, announced that a new crown vaccination oolong incident occurred in the local area. 119 people were killed because the refrigerator where the vaccine was stored was not plugged in. Wrongly vaccinated with room temperature vaccine.
On the 27th, the city of Yokohama, Japan, announced that an oolong vaccination incident occurred in the local area. 119 people were mistakenly vaccinated at room temperature because the refrigerator where the vaccine was stored was not plugged in.
Image source: Screenshot of NHK website report
According to reports, the incident occurred at the Seya Sports Center in Yokohama City.
The staff at this vaccination site did not notice that the refrigerator was not plugged into the power source when transferring the vaccine from the freezer to the refrigerator the day before in order to defrost the vaccine.
The City of Yokohama stated that the thawed vaccine should have been stored in an environment of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, but this time the vaccine was placed in an environment above 8 degrees Celsius for about 18 hours.
Before the staff noticed this situation, 119 people had been vaccinated with the vaccine stored at room temperature.
The remaining 247 vaccines were subsequently discarded.
Regarding the impact of the room temperature vaccine, Yokohama City stated that it has not yet determined the specific impact.
However, the report pointed out that these 119 people may not be able to produce sufficient new crown antibodies, and antibody testing will be required in the future, and if necessary, they should be vaccinated again.
Regarding this incident, the person in charge of the Yokohama City Government said, “I deeply apologize to the vaccinators and will regularly check and record the temperature of the refrigerator in the future to try to prevent recurrence (similar incidents).