GGD Utrecht gives away 1,200 Covid-19 vaccines after power failure killed cold storage

A power failure at a GGD vaccination site in Nieuwegein, Utrecht on Monday put 1,200 Covid-19 vaccines made by Leiden company Janssen in danger of being lost. The power failure killed the cold storage that kept the vaccines at the right temperature. To prevent waste, GGD Utrecht gave the vaccines away.

The GGD first administered vaccines to its own staff. At 8:30 p.m., the health service made them available to interested people who didn't have an appointment yet. Hundreds of people showed up at the vaccination site, to the point that the GGD had to put out a call for people to stop coming. The site was open past midnight, with extra employees on hand to administer vaccines.

The power outage was caused by a burst water pipe, a spokesperson for GGD Utrecht told RTL Nieuws. Administering vaccines is a guideline to prevent waste in such circumstances, they said.

Last month, the Netherlands stopped administering the Janssen vaccine to people under 40, after advice from the Health Council. "Janssen's vaccine is safe for people over 18. Throwing a vaccine away is of course a shame. That is why we have chosen to give them away now," A GGD employee at the Nieuwegein site said to the broadcaster.

Voor iedereen die denkt dat niemand gevaccineerd wil worden: dit is wat er gebeurd wanneer #vaccins voor een prikkie beschikbaar zijn. #coronavaccinatie @nos #ggdnieuwegein #storing pic.twitter.com/YWfeEJSGCP

— Sander Griffioen (@sgriffioen) June 7, 2021