Queenstown Airport staff have been caught up in the cool storage failure that saw close to 1600 people given a Covid-19 vaccine stored at the wrong temperature.
The Southern District Health Board along with the occupational provider, Engage Safety, apologised yesterday after an audit found vials were stored at the "incorrect temperature" making the jab ineffective.
The incidents happened in the Queenstown-Lakes and Central Otago districts between December 1, 2021 and January 28, 2022.
Airport chief executive, Glen Sowry, told 1News, the company was advised that some batches of the vaccine administered on some of the days in December were affected.
Around half of the 450 people vaccinated on site may not have been fully immunised and would require a replacement jab.
It was hosting a pop-up clinic for the airport community including office and operational staff.
"We are actively working with the SDHB to do everything possible to resolve this issue, including hosting a pop-up clinic again as soon as practically possible," said Glen Sowry.
The DHB was alerted last Thursday after an immunisation coordinator audited occupational health provider, Engage Safety, and found a "cool chain failure" around how the vaccination was stored.
A failure like this can occur at any stage of the vaccination journey where the Pfizer vaccine has to be stored at a specific temperature to give the best possible immune response.
Engage Safety spokesperson, Debbie Swain-Rewi, told 1News in a statement: "I want to say how very sorry I am for the inconvenience and upset caused to all the people affected by this ... we are not conducting vaccinations during this time."
While there is no risk to individuals, the vaccine is considered not "to be potent nor to produce a reliable level of immunity," said SDHB Medical Officer of Health Dr Susan Jack.
The DHB says it is urgently contacting the people involved which extends as far as Auckland via text message, a phone call and email or letter where necessary.
The district health board is now conducting an independent review into the issue.
Some answers to frequently asked questions on replacement vaccines can be found here.
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