NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — Officials at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center say a shipment of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine did not arrive Wednesday, as expected.
Instead, the New York State Department of Health delivered the vaccines to two other hospitals: Mount St. Mary's in Lewiston and and Mercy in South Buffalo.
This comes a week after Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center received a NUAIRE -86 degree Celsius (-122.8 Fahrenheit) ultra-low temp freezer ahead of receiving those vaccines.
"We now need to schedule out already-taxed frontline workers to make appointments and travel to these locations to obtain their vaccine," Memorial President and CEO Joseph A. Ruffolo said in a Wednesday letter addressed to the state.
The state responded to 2 On Your Side on Wednesday night, saying that when the hospital made the vaccine order, it didn't have the right storage freezer for it, in accordance with state guidelines.
However, now that Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center has the freezer, the state will work to transfer those doses back. The state must approve it before that transfer can happen, and they did not provide a timeline.
In his letter, Ruffolo called it a "small quantity" of misplaced Pfizer vaccines, adding that "the remaining doses our our allocation have not yet arrived, and we cannot obtain any information on their whereabouts."
Just last week, Ruffolo said that the hospital was prepared for the arrival of the vaccines and ready to get to work.
"We are so fortunate to have ordered this piece of equipment several months ago as there is now a four or five-month backlog to place an order,” he said.
"We’ve received it just in time for the arrival of the vaccine, and we are ready to safely store and distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to our staff, nursing home residents, and community."