According to reports, eight workers at a German nursing home were accidentally injected with five doses of the Pfizer BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.
The seven women and one man, aged between 38 and 54, work in the facility in the northeastern city of Stralsund, where they received the jabs as part of a priority group, reports Agence France-Presse.
But when they were vaccinated on Sunday, they each received five doses at a time, said Stefan Kerth, the administrator of the Vorpommern-Ruegen district, where the house is located.
Four were admitted to hospital for observation after developing mild flu-like symptoms while the others were sent home.
“I deeply regret the incident,” Kerth said. “I hope everyone affected has no serious side effects.”
The incident came after some German districts refused to use vaccines received over the weekend because they suspected cold conditions were interrupted during delivery, Reuters reported.
Before the start of the vaccination campaigns in several European countries this weekend, the German drug manufacturer BioNTech said that larger than normal doses were injected during trials without serious side effects.
The vaccine, which is designed to be administered in two injections, is administered in vials each containing five doses once diluted.
On Monday, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health said the vials could each be used for six doses.