Four North German health workers were sent to hospital on Sunday after accidentally receiving five times the recommended dose of coronavirus vaccine.
Officials from the Vorpommern-Rügen district reported that eight workers in an aged care facility had overdosed on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, with four developing flu-like symptoms and monitored as a precaution. When the error was discovered, the workers, who are between the ages of 37 and 54, were informed and sent home.
“I deeply regret the incident,” said district chief Stefan Kerth in a statement The Hill received. “This individual case is due to individual errors. I hope all those affected do not experience serious side effects. “
The district authorities cited earlier statements from BioNTech indicating that larger doses were used in the first phase of trials and did not lead to serious consequences.
Pfizer and BioNTech pointed out that for those who overdose on the vaccine, “monitoring of vital signs and possible symptomatic treatment is recommended”.
The incident occurred in Germany and the Rollout of the European Union of the vaccine, approved by the EU drug regulator last week. The US and UK had approved the vaccine earlier this month and have started to deliver the first doses in recent weeks.
Together with Pfizer, the EU has contracts with AstraZeneca and Moderna for its vaccination campaign and plans to vaccinate 6.25 million people by the end of the year.
Some German districts refused to use vaccine doses received over the weekend over concerns that the required cold conditions for the vaccine were interrupted during labor, Reuters reported Monday. The Pfizer vaccine should be shipped at a temperature between -112 degrees and -76 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
—Updated at 2:25 PM