The West Virginia National Guard said on Wednesday 42 people had been accidentally injected with antibodies to fight COVID-19 instead of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, health officials said. The injections of the Regeneron antibody product were given at a clinic hosted by the Boone County Health Department. The guard said they do not believe there is any risk of injury to the 42 individuals who received the wrong shot.
“The moment we were made aware of what had happened, we immediately took action 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 on Thursday.
Anyone who received the wrong recording has been contacted or will be contacted according to the release. The State Department of Health and Human Resources will contact them and they will be given priority in getting the vaccine.
“The product administered is antibodies that fight COVID-19,” said Dr. Clay Marsh, the COVID-19 state czar, according to CBS affiliate WOWK-TV. “In fact, this product was the same that was given to President Trump when he became infected. While this injection is not harmful, it was substituted for the vaccine. But this incident provides our leadership team with an important opportunity to improve safety and vaccination process for every West Virginiaan. “
The station reported Thursday that more than 800 Western Virginians are currently in the hospital fighting COVID-19. The state set a record as of December 31 with 801 current hospitalizations. Of those patients, 206 are in the ICU and a record 99 people are currently on artificial respiration.
The Associated Press contributed.