A Walgreens distributed a surplus of its near-expired COVID-19 vaccine to the general public, WESH 2 reported.
Julie Dryden and her husband rushed to a Walgreens in Louisville, Kentucky, after receiving a text from her friend on Christmas Eve that the pharmacy was offering about 12 doses of the vaccine to store shoppers, WESH 2 reported.
At risk of expiring, this pharmacy gave its surplus of COVID-19 vaccine to general public https://t.co/rme3rMjbQ4
— WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore (@wbaltv11) December 29, 2020
“I had joked since June, like, all I want for Christmas is a COVID vaccine,” she said, WESH 2 reported. “Having the immunodeficiency coupled with the lung illness, and being that this is a respiratory virus, I’m at super high risk for any kind of exposure.”
Because the local Walgreens had ordered a surplus of the Pfizer vaccines, which can only remain refrigerated for five days before expiring, they reallocated the rest to local first responders, pharmacy employees and residents, according to WESH 2.
“These measures were taken to ensure every dose of a limited vaccine supply was used to protect patients and communities,” Phil Caruso, a Walgreens spokesperson, said in an email, according to Courier-Journal. (RELATED: WHO Chief Scientist Says It’s Unclear If Vaccine Will Prevent Covid19 From Spreading)
While the vaccine distribution plan prioritizes healthcare workers, the elderly and first responders, Dryden claimed she was grateful to have received the vaccine through this crack in the system, WESH 2 reported.
“My nephew is 21, and if he had been in Walgreens and he would have gotten it, I would have been so pumped because that’s one more person that is protected that is then going to protect other people from getting it,” Dryden said.