A Virginia innkeeper accidentally injected customers looking for a COVID-19 vaccine with an empty syringe.
What are the details?
According to a CNN Thursday report, at least nine people recently received shots of nothing when they went to receive their COVID-19 vaccination at a Kroger in Richmond area.
A company spokesman said in a statement that a “small number of patients” had recently received empty shots at a Little Clinic location in Midlothian, Virginia.
Kroger only realized that nine patients had received empty syringes when the Virginia Department of Public Health notified them – because the provider “did not realize the syringes were not pre-filled.”
“All affected customers were contacted and received their COVID-19 vaccine,” the spokesman added. “We thank these customers for their understanding and apologize for their inconvenience.”
The spokesman added: “Kroger is taking steps to ensure that similar incidents do not occur in the future.”
What else?
Carrie Hawes, a client of the clinic who received one of the empty shots, told WWBT-TV that she was scared when she heard the news that she was not being injected.
“They immediately spoke to a driver and they explained that a mistake had been made – that we only got salt. There was no vaccination material,” Hawes said. “My initial reaction was shock and surprise, and a little anxiety.”
The Hill reported on Thursday that the syringes were empty after clarification and confirmation – not filled with any saline solution.
WWBT noted that Hawes was able to return to the clinic within two hours of receiving the news to receive the corrected COVID-19 vaccine.
“They were very clear with me when we went in,” she said. “They showed us the vial to make sure it was Johnson & Johnson. They pulled out the vaccine, she showed me again.”
“Yes, it is unfortunate that an error occurred, but it was a small number of people. The situation was resolved,” she added. ‘I understand that it’s a long year and that sometimes there’s not much trust in our systems and the process, but I think everyone has the best intentions and the end result is to get as many people in as we can. , as fast as we can, so that we can all protect our community. ‘