MANKATO, Minn. (FOX 9) – A Hy-Vee pharmacy in Mankato, Minnesota, incorrectly administered the COVID-19 vaccine to 62 patients, according to a statement from Hy-Vee.
Pharmacy staff at the Riverfront Hy-Vee diluted the Pfizer vaccine with a sterile water injection instead of the saline solution provided by Pfizer.
To date, the patients involved have not reported any side effects. He-Vee consulted independent doctors and said there was “no reason for medical concern.”
He-Vee reached out to those affected, including 66-year-old Greg Brown of Champlin who received his first dose of vaccine at the pharmacy on Tuesday. Now he is waiting for answers.
“We’ve been on the phone with Pfizer for more than two hours, waiting to get an answer from Pfizer,” Brown said. “Ultimately, they say, we do not have enough data. It has not been studied. No data.”
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, Brown and the other patients affected by this will probably not need to be vaccinated again or get another vaccine, but are waiting to hear from the CDC and Pfizer.
While Brown says the wait for clarity is appalling, he does not want his experience to deter others from getting the vaccine.
“Everyone needs to get a chance, mistakes happen, there are no life-threatening injuries,” Brown said. “I just do not feel comfortable with, ‘Oh, a pharmacist will come back to you. ‘No, that’s not currently acceptable. ‘
According to Hy-Vee, all pharmacy staff at the Riverfront Hy-Vee were trained to administer the vaccine.
Full statement from Hy-Vee:
Hy-Vee recently received information that our Riverfront Hy-Vee pharmacy in Mankato oversaw the administration of the first dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to 62 patients. Two staff members at the pharmacy use vaccines mixed with a sterile water injection diluent – commonly used to dilute injections, rather than the salt diluent provided by Pfizer. After consulting with several third-party physicians working on the vaccination process, we received confirmation that there was no cause for medical concern. No side effects were reported from patients.
Once we were made aware of the incident, we personally called the patients involved. We reached out to the manufacturer and worked with each of the patients on the next steps. We also reported this information to the appropriate regulatory agencies and retrained all our pharmacist staff at this location.
We are still committed to playing an important role in the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine in our local communities.