Coronavirus

Hundreds Of Vaccines Tossed Out In Arizona

The health department has adjusted the amount of doses to thaw, changed appointment scheduling and will send unused shots to other vaccine sites.

Hundreds Of Vaccines Tossed Out In Arizona
Ross D. Franklin / AP
SMS

Hundreds of doses of the coronavirus vaccine are going to waste in Arizona, even as thousands of people are waiting for appointments.

Reasons vary from broken vials to no-show appointments. But our sister station in Phoenix discovered providers aren't reporting the waste to the state.

Wendy Smith Reeve, former director of Arizona Emergency Management said: "Obviously there needs to be a reminder that those reports are required to be sent in immediately."

Will Humble, former director of the Arizona Department of Health Services said: "To me, it's not about 'OK it was 200 doses that were wasted.' It's, 'What did you learn from that event?'"

Arizona's health department is making changes. They adjusted the amount of doses to thaw, changed appointment scheduling and will send unused shots to other vaccine sites. 

Even though vaccinations are picking up, a new wave of COVID cases could be coming because of new variants, more travel and loosening restrictions. 

Earlier this week the CDC director warned of dangerous times ahead.