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Hy-Vee has confirmed that staff at one of his Minnesota stores incorrectly diluted a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine that was then given to 62 patients.
The grocery store chain, whose pharmacies are authorized in Minnesota to administer the vaccines as part of a federal program, said the incident recently happened at its Riverfront Hy-Vee pharmacy in Mankato.
He said there was an oversight when the first dose of the vaccine was given to 62 patients.
As explained: “Two pharmacy staff members used vaccines mixed with a sterile water injection diluent, which is commonly used to dilute injections, instead of the salt diluent provided by Pfizer.”
The chain says it has consulted with third-party doctors working on the vaccination process and that “it has received confirmation that there is no cause for medical concern.”
“We also didn’t have any patients reporting side effects,” he added.
“As soon as we were informed of the incident, we started personally calling the affected patients,” he continued. “We have contacted the manufacturer and are working with each of the patients in the following steps. We have also reported this information to the relevant regulatory agencies and recycled all staff members of our pharmacies on this site.”
“We remain committed to playing an important role in the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine to our local communities.”