One hundred and forty patients who came to be vaccinated against COVID-19 on Tuesday at a vaccination center in north-eastern France received by mistake an injection of physiological saline instead of a dose of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, without consequence for their health.
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“Tuesday afternoon, 140 people received an injection composed only of physiological serum” in the vaccination center of Epernay, said the University Hospital Center (CHU) of Reims (North-East).
This injection is “without consequence for health, however, their vaccination course remains incomplete”, explains the CHU in a press release sent to AFP on Saturday.
Wednesday morning, “immediately after the discovery of the incident (…) an analysis of the causes which led to this error was carried out”, and “a health executive was commissioned to strengthen the pre-existing security procedures”, assures the hospital, without further specifying the nature of this error.
The 140 patients concerned, who therefore did not receive their dose of vaccine, were contacted on Thursday by the staff of the vaccination center, “to inform them and offer them a new appointment on Friday 23 or Wednesday 28 April”.
“Physiological serum is a salt water solution used in various medical treatments such as cleaning wounds, eyes or even as a diluent during injections and does not present any consequences for health”, reassures the hospital.