The group had to receive the Moderna vaccine.
The West Virginia National Guard announced Thursday that more than three dozen people have received the Regeneron monoclonal antibody treatment instead of the Moderna vaccine.
Forty-two people received the antibody product intramuscularly at a vaccination clinic hosted by Boone County Health Department staff. The treatment, which received an emergency permit for the Food and Drug Administration in November, is usually given as an intravenous infusion.
“It was determined to be an isolated incident,” Julie Miller, an administrator of the Boone County Health Department, told ABC News.
Medical experts at the Joint Interagency Task Force do not believe the 42 individuals could pose a danger, and according to the West Virginia National Guard, all persons who received the monoclonal antibody have been contacted or are being contacted.
Regeneron is a medicine cocktail consisting of antibodies designed to fight COVID-19. The drug was administered to President Donald Trump when he became ill with the virus.
“The moment we were notified of what happened, we immediately took action to rectify it, and we immediately reviewed and strengthened our protocols to improve our distribution process to prevent it from happening again,” he said. genl.maj. James Hoyer, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard, said in a press release.
As there are currently no data on the safety and efficacy of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in persons receiving monoclonal antibodies as part of COVID-19 treatment, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that ‘vaccination must be postponed for at least 90 days. , as a precaution until additional information becomes available, to prevent interference with the antibody treatment with immune responses by vaccine. “
However, despite the CDC’s recommendation, the West Virginia National Guard told ABC News that ‘there is no concern that it will be put back 90 days,’ and that ‘all 42 individuals today are being offered the vaccine’.
Miller said the Boone Department of Health will continue to work closely with the State Department and the Department of Health and Human Resources in West Virginia to review all internal policies and procedures.
“While this injection is not harmful, it has been replaced by the vaccine. But this event provides our leadership team with an important opportunity to review and improve the safety and vaccination process for every West Virginia,” he said. Clay Marsh, COVID- 19 tsar, said.
ABC News’ Sony Salzman and Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.