Eight employees of a German nursing home were mistakenly given five doses of Covid-19 vaccine, with no serious health consequences at this stage, according to Belga News Agency.
The seven women and one man, aged 38 to 54, work in a nursing home in Stralsund, in the northeast of the country. As such, they are among the priority persons to receive the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine, which has been administered in Germany since Saturday.
But during Sunday's vaccination session, they were given five doses at once, the administrator of the district where the facility is located said Monday.
They were immediately informed of the error, said Stefan Kerth. Four were admitted for observation at the hospital with mild flu-like symptoms, the others went home.
"I deeply regret this incident," said the district administrator, assuring that these were only isolated cases, due to human error. "I wish all concerned that no serious side effects occur," he added.
The vaccine, designed in less than a year and to be administered in two injections, is delivered in a vial that, when diluted, was intended to provide five doses. Additionally, German health authorities, through a Ministry of Health spokeswoman, announced Monday that the vials were likely to give six doses.
Such an incident had been allowed for in tests by German laboratory BioNTech. Ahead of the launch of the vaccination campaign in several European countries it confirmed that larger than normal doses had been injected during the trial phases without serious side effects.
The Brussels Times
