London Mayor Ed Holder has expressed displeasure over the thousands of doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine the health unit had to toss away because they expired.
During the Middlesex-London Health Unit's (MLHU) virtual media briefing on Monday, it was revealed that approximately 10,000 Moderna vaccines were discarded last Thursday after they were spoiled.
In late July, the health unit put a call out to those who still needed their first or second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to book an appointment for a Moderna shot, as vaccine clinics in the area had a surplus of over 21,000 thawed vaccines ready to go with a fast-approaching expiry date.
"Fortunately we were able to move through significant amounts of Moderna product prior, so it was less than we projected, but still unfortunately we weren't able to find candidates for those vaccines," said Dr. Alex Summers, the health unit's associate medical officer of health.
The news of the unused doses evoked some anger by Holder, who called the loss of vaccines "tragic."
"Those 10,000 shots that would have prevented 10,000 Londoners from getting sick and getting COVID are in the garbage, and I'm mad as hell," Holder said. "Ten thousand shots being wasted like that, that's a life and death decision and that's the tragedy in all this."
Throughout the past several weeks, London health officials have reported a slight lull in vaccine appointments which resulted in the Moderna vaccines being thrown away. As of August 7, the MLHU reported 70.7 per cent of adults in London-Middlesex are fully vaccinated, while 81.4 per cent have received at least one dose.
The health unit also announced Monday that 13 walk-in and pop-up vaccination clinics will open this week for people who still need a first or second dose. A full list of upcoming clinics can be found on the health unit's website.