COVID-19 vaccination site in US administers wrong Pfizer dose to recipients: Report

Workers at a US vaccination site have revealed that thousands of recipients may have received the wrong dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in California on Monday. According to FOX2 KTVU, workers at the Oakland Coliseum vaccination centre revealed that more than 4,000 people may have received the wrong dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine because they were sent a different type of syringe that traps up to a mililitre of the drug. 

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Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is recommended to be administered 0.3 mL dose each for it to trigger an immune response in recipients. However, if the workers at the Oakland vaccination site are to be believed, thousands of Californians got 0.05 to 0.1 mL less than what is recommended to be the perfect dose of Pfizer's vaccine. Workers said up to 0.1 mL dose of vaccine got stuck in the plunger because of the different type of syringe sent from the national stockpile. 

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This means that thousands of people may have got the wrong dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Oakland, California. It is unclear exactly how many people received the wrong dose of Pfizer's vaccine on Monday, but the Oakland site has been administering over 6,000 doses every day since it was set up last month. Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is said to be 95% effective if given in a correct dose, 21 days apart from one another. However, there is a lack of evidence to suggest if a lower dose is as effective. 

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'Trying to brush aside the matter'

According to the report, a spokesperson for the Oakland site downplayed the mistake, saying the amount left behind in the syringe was "negligible". The spokesperson added that the problem was corrected as soon as it was discovered. However, the workers who revealed the mistake believe those responsible are trying to "sweep the matter under the rug"

This is not the first syringe problem to arise as earlier on in the vaccination programme, American pharmacists realised that if a different type of syringe with less dead space is used to administer Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, it would last for six shots rather than just five. To correct the problem, manufacturers decided to send the right supply of syringes to ensure no wastage of vaccines. But reportedly the wrong type of syringe still found its way to Oakland. 

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