The federal medicines agency FAMHP has declared all 21,000 vaccines safe in the vaccination center in Flanders Expo. It was feared that thousands of vaccines would have to be thrown away after the vaccination center was hit by a power outage.
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Employees of the vaccination center determined the power outage on Friday morning when they arrived in the halls of Flanders Expo. An emergency generator was not started, as a result of which the cooling installation for 3,740 bottles was heated for a while between 3 and 6 hours.
In total, it concerned 21,000 doses, from manufacturers Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson&Johnson. Some vaccines must be stored under extremely strict conditions and low temperatures. It was not clear this morning whether that had been the case.
However, after research by experts from the FAMHP, it appears that the vaccines are still usable, the city council confirmed. Acting mayor Sofie Bracke (Open VLD) speaks of ‘redeeming news’.
There are no indications of malicious intent on Friday. But it is clear that the emergency generator that was supposed to guarantee the safe storage of the precious vaccine has not worked. ‘That is obviously very problematic’, says Bracke. “We have to figure that out. Those things have been extensively tested.’
New appointment
On Friday, about 4,000 people would receive a shot in the vaccination center in Ghent, the only one in the primary care zone. But visitors who were supposed to come between 8 and 10 a.m. were given a new appointment. Some of them will be poked today, the rest can come back later.
Vaccinations were resumed from 10 a.m., with vaccines from other primary care zones and UZ Gent transferred while the others were being examined.
During the entire vaccination campaign, almost 13,000 doses have already been lost throughout Belgium due to human errors and storage problems, according to the Covid Vaccinations Belgium dashboard.
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