Dr. Moma sets press conference for Monday to address allegations

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Dr. Moma Health and Wellness Clinic announced Friday evening a press conference is set for Monday at 3 p.m. to address the allegations regarding the mishandling of thousands of vaccines.

The owner of the clinic posted a statement on the Dr. Moma COVID-19 Vaccine Recipients Facebook page saying the press conference will cover the allegations and findings.

The press conference is Monday 3 pm. We will detail all facts pertaining to the allegations and findings. Here are some basic facts about the allegations that will be discussed during the conference. Main allegations irregularities in storage and handling. When the clinic was asked to be shut down, no CDPHE had seen or requested to see my storage, refrigerator, temperature log, or anything of that nature since the onset of the vaccination.

Favor Sylvie, Dr. Moma Health & Wellness Clinic

The statement goes on to say the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment visited the clinic and did not raise any concern to staff about the storage or handling nor did they ask how long the vaccines were out.

An hour after CDPHE left, the state called and told the clinic to shut down.

The statement also says that patients were "in and out in less than 20 minutes" and the clinic was open for 3.5 hours when they were administering the vaccines.

According to the statement, 95% of the staff working from administration, preparation, to vaccinating were State [appointed] staff" and not staff normally employed Dr. Moma's.

In the statement, Dr. Moma says CDPHE visited their clinic. However, El Paso County Health previously told KRDO they sent employees to inspect the facility after receiving numerous complaints from patients.

Earlier Friday, a new report obtained by 13 Investigates outlined some of the issues that patients had previously reported at Dr. Moma's. The clinic made headlines after the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced that more than 7,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine at Dr. Moma's had to be thrown away because of improper procedures

Images released in the report show a desk with several silver trays "loaded with filled syringes in a pile, and a bowl with [vaccines] in it," according to the notes.

Read the full statement below:

The press conference is Monday 3 pm. We will detail all facts pertaining to the allegations and findings

Here are some basic facts about the allegations that will be discussed during the conference.

Main allegation Irregularities in storage and handling. When the clinic was asked to be shut down, no CDPHE had seen or requested to see my storage, refrigerator, temperature log, or anything of that nature since the onset of the vaccination.

The above allegations supposedly came from a picture taken by the two CDPHE who visited. The picture(1) was of the staff(s) preparing the vaccine on my office tablet. They reported 4 staffs on a table unmasked, vials in a bowl and prefilled syringes.

While during their visit, CDPHE did not raise any concerns about my storage and handling. They did not ask to see my temperature log, storage room, vaccination refrigerator, or where I was currently storing the vaccine. They also did not ask how long the vaccines were out and why they were labeled or not labeled.

From the press, they noted concerns of “improper cold storage in the vaccine draw room.”

The storage mentioned above is not a cold storage but rather a medicine cabinet to store our in-house medicines. The vaccines were never stored inside of it. It's fair to say they assumed that was where I was storing the vaccines.

Essentially, if storage and handling was a public health concern during their unannounced visit, why didn't they shut down the clinic right away? I received a phone call to shut down the clinic almost an hour after they left the building. How come these concerns were not raised and verify during their visit? Why didn't they ask the state nurses who were drawing up the vaccines how long they had the vaccines out? If approximately 150 combine vaccines were found prefilled, and we were administering about 100-150 people an hour? Will that increase or decrease the probability of risking viability?

At the time of shut down, we had administered over 700 people in the 3.5 hours. We were open for 3.5 hours prior to shut down. On that day, everyone was in and out in less than 20mins.

Why didn't they addressed the labeling issue if/when they saw it? The vaccine vials come label; each preparing room only had one lot number. If that was an issue, why didn't they address the state staff preparing the vaccines?

95% of the staff working from administration, preparation, to vaccinating were state appointmented staffs, not my in house staffs!

I took an oath to serve lives not destroy them. 20 state staffs will significantly decrease any probability to intentionally not follow guidelines or protocols.

My heart reaches out to all those that are directly impacted. Your concerns and frustrations are valid.

We will provide all details/facts regarding all the allegations during the press conference.

Again, we are deeply sorry and offer our sincere apologies.

Favor Sylvie, Dr. Moma Health & Wellness Clinic