Picture Des Moines via Flickr
Hy-Vee confirmed that the team at one of its stores in Minnesota incorrectly diluted a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine that was then administered to 62 patients.
The supermarket chain, whose pharmacies are among three in Minnesota authorized to administer vaccines as part of a federal program, said the incident happened recently at its Riverfront Hy-Vee pharmacy in Mankato.
He says there was an oversight in giving the first dose of the vaccine to 62 patients.
As he explains: “Two members of the pharmacy team used vaccines mixed with a sterile water injection diluent – which is commonly used to dilute injections, instead of the saline diluent provided by Pfizer.”
The network claims to have consulted third-party doctors who work on the vaccine process and “received confirmation that there is no reason for medical concern”.
“We also had no patients reporting any side effects,” he added.
“As soon as we heard about the incident, we started to personally call the affected patients,” he continued. “We contacted the manufacturer and are working with each of the patients on the next steps. We also report this information to the appropriate regulatory agencies and retrain all members of our pharmacy team at this location.”
“We remain committed to playing an important role in administering the COVID-19 vaccine in our local communities.”