NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - The Virginia Department of Health said on Thursday that a pharmacy in the state wrongly administered Pfizer and BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine shots to 112 children last week.
The CDC had okayed Pfizer vaccine for children aged between 5-11 years last week at a third of the dosage for older age groups. Although Pfizer vaccines are made available in special color-coded vials for younger children to ensure they get the right dosage, employees at a pharmacy in Aldie, Va., on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., administered the doses from the vials meant for 12 years and above.
Commenting on the incident, Dr David Goodfriend, director of the Loudoun County Health Department, told CNBC, 'The pharmacy attempted to provide a proper dose. It appears the pharmacy did, in fact, administer about a third of the adult dose, which should be the correct amount. However, a lower dose is possible if not all of the 0.1 ml was administered into muscle.'
The Virginia health department sent out letters to parents that their wards may have been given a lower dose than recommended. The pharmacy was barred from administering shots and all its Covid vaccine shots were seized by authorities.
Goodfriend said that the health department did not get any complaints of children receiving too much vaccine. The pharmacy administered the wrong doses on November 3 and 4, just after the CDC order.
Kids aged between 5 and 11 years are recommended a two-dose, 10 microgram Covid vaccine regimen, compared to the 30 microgram shots for those 12 and older.
The letter sent out to parents by the Health Department recommended two options for completing their ward's Covid vaccine series- they could either restart the vaccination at least 21 days after the incorrect dose was given or complete the second shot with the proper dosage as scheduled.
Pfizer said that it ships the vaccines meant for kids with orange caps, labels and boxes to distinguish them from the purple packaging of doses for elder people. The shots also contain new instructions and dilution warnings to prevent confusion regarding the shots.
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