Nearly 900 people in New York City were advised to receive a third dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine after receiving doses that were left in a freezer for too long at a vaccination site in Times Square, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene confirmed to Becker's.
The vaccines had not reached their expiration date, but were left in a freezer longer than is recommended by Pfizer. Because Pfizer could not guarantee the vaccines would still be fully effective after being left in the freezer for too long, the drugmaker advised the city that the 899 people who received the shots needed to be vaccinated again.
The doses were given June 5-10 to people at the site in the former NFL Experience building in Times Square.
The New York City Health Department sent letters to all people who received the affected vaccines telling them to get another dose as soon as possible, a spokesperson for the department told Becker's. The people can get another dose at any vaccination site that offers Pfizer's shot with no waiting period between doses, the department said.
The health department told Becker's there is "no safety risk for the patients" who received the affected vaccines, and that the readministration of vaccines is being carried out to ensure the people are fully protected.
ATC Vaccination Services, the company that ran the vaccine site, said in a statement shared with Becker's: "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 that there is no danger from the vaccine they received."