A Kroger in Virginia accidentally injected customers who were looking for a COVID-19 vaccine with an empty syringe.
What are the details?
According to a CNN Thursday report, at least nine people recently received injections of nothing when they went to receive the COVID-19 vaccination at a Kroger in the Richmond area.
A company spokesman said in a statement that “a small number of patients” recently received empty injections at a Little Clinic clinic in Midlothian, Virginia.
Kroger only realized that nine patients received empty syringes when the Virginia Department of Public Health informed them – because the provider “did not notice that the syringes were not filled”.
“All affected customers were contacted and received their COVID-19 vaccine,” added the spokesman. “We thank these customers for their understanding and apologize for the inconvenience.”
The spokesman added: “Kroger is taking steps to ensure that similar incidents do not occur in the future.”
What else?
Carrie Hawes, a client at the clinic who received one of the empty injections, told WWBT-TV that she was alarmed when she heard the news that she had not been injected with anything.
“I spoke to a manager immediately and they explained that there was an error – that we received only saline. There was no vaccination material,” said Hawes. “My initial reaction was shock and surprise, and a little anxiety.”
Hill reported on Thursday that, after clarification and confirmation, the syringes were empty – not filled with any saline.
WWBT noted that Hawes was able to return to the clinic to receive the corrected COVID-19 vaccine within two hours of receiving the news.
“They were very clear with me when we entered,” she said. “They showed us the vial to make sure it was Johnson & Johnson, they removed the vaccine and she showed it to me again.”
“Yes, it is a pity that there was a mistake, but it was a small number of people. The situation has been corrected, ”he added. “I understand that it has been a long year and sometimes there is not much confidence in our systems and the process, but I think that everyone has the best intentions and the end result is to vaccinate as many people as we can, as quickly as possible to that we can protect our community. “