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Mayor Bill De Blasio and Lin-Manuel Miranda opened a new vaccination hub for the theater, film and TV industry in Times Square in April. Yesterday, the Broadway center — run in partnership with the Actors Fund and ATC Vaccination Services — warned over 800 people that they had received an expired dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
Last night, New York City’s Health Department confirmed the error, saying that they are notifying everyone involved. Those affected have been advised to receive another dose in the opposite arm from the defective shot as soon as possible.
The error happened between June 5 to June 10. “It was recognized, after the vaccine was administered, that it had been in the freezer beyond the approved timeframe prior to it being administered,” according to an email given to the New York Post.
ATC Vaccination Services released a statement last night saying: “ATC Vaccination Services is part of a large group of vaccine distributors in partnership with the NYC Department of Health to distribute the vaccine. We apologize for the inconvenience to those receiving the vaccine batch in question and want people first and foremost to know that we have been advised there is no danger from the vaccine they received.
“After consulting Pfizer, NYC Department of Health sent out an email on our behalf alerting everyone to return for another vaccine. They further instructed us to follow up via phone and mail to alert the recipients that the only way to be certain that they are fully vaccinated is to come in for another shot, because the shot in question was in the freezer ‘too long’ to be assured of its full effectiveness. We encourage those affected to get a new dose anywhere that provides the Pfizer vaccine.”
Health officials stressed that there is no safety risk for patients affected by the error. The city has replaced ATC as provider at the venue concerned.