Forty-two people who expected to receive the COVID-19 vaccine instead were given the antibody used to treat infections, the West Virginia National Guard said Thursday.
The guard said the affected individuals had arrived at a clinic in Boone County to receive the Moderna vaccine but were accidentally given the Regeneron antibody, Fox News said.
Antibody recipients were not at risk of harm, said medical experts from the Joint Interagency Task Force, which coordinates the state’s vaccination efforts.
“The moment we were made aware of what had happened, we immediately acted to correct it, and we immediately revised and strengthened our protocols to improve our distribution process to prevent this from happening again,” said Major General James Hoyer, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard, said in a press release.
The errors, which came to light on Wednesday, occurred at a clinic hosted by the Boone County Health Department. All people who received the wrong injection were contacted according to the release.
President Donald Trump praised Regeneron for helping him recover from COVID-19 after contracting the virus in November.
The Food and Drug Administration then approved the use of the experimental emergency treatment, which uses monoclonal antibodies, or fabricated copies of antibodies made by the human body to fight infections.
“The products administered are antibodies that fight COVID-19,” said Dr. Clay Marsh, the COVID-19 state czaar, in the statement. “While this injection is not harmful, it replaced the vaccine. But this incident represents a significant opportunity for our leadership team to review and improve the safety and vaccination process for every West Virginiaan.”
The guard said no other vaccine shipments had been affected, and the task force had revised and strengthened all vaccine-related protocols.
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