Power outage destroys COVID-19 vaccines in remote B.C. First Nation clinic

A batch of COVID-19 vaccines set to be given to members of a remote First Nation community has been spoiled after a power outage this week.

Anaham Sage Healh Clinic in Tl’etinqox, west of Williams Lake, posted a memo on its Facebook page saying the Moderna vaccines had been deemed unusable following the break in the “cold chain.”

“When the chain is broken, the vaccine may not work to provide protection and mRNA vaccines (such as Moderna) are especially sensitive to temperature,” according to the memo from the First Nations Health Authority.

The FNHA said the vaccine was returned to its proper temperature as soon as possible and nurses followed all protocols, but Moderna said the vaccine was no longer viable.

It’s not clear how many doses were spoiled.

The Facebook post has since been deleted.

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Wednesday the Tl’etinqox nation went under a full lockdown due to mounting cases of COVID-19.

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The community’s government said there are more than 27 cases with numbers expected to keep rising and are urging members to stay home.

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As of last weekend, Anaham Sage Clinic had vaccinated 40 people, according to a post on Facebook.

The authority said it will work to hold another vaccine clinic as soon as possible.

Global News has reached out to the First Nations Health Authority and the Tsilhqot’in Nation for comment.