A mix led this man to get a combined pack of vaccines.
On Tuesday, while receiving his second dose of COVID-19 vaccine, a New Hampshire man accidentally received the blow from Pfizer, even though his first dose was from Modern. Despite the unfortunate setback, officials say it will be fine, with no more shots needed for now.
“He said,‘ Are you ready to make a poke? I said, “Sure,” and it stung me, ”New Hampshire resident Craig Richards told Manchester’s WMUR News 9 of the experience he returned this week for his second dose of vaccine at the same location he had gotten the first one. “As soon as he punctured me, he looked at my card and I think he realized he had given me the Pfizer.”
Richards pointed out the mistake.
“I looked at him and said,‘ You didn’t give me the wrong shot. ’And he stopped!” Richards said. While the man may have panicked in response to the realization of his mistake, Richards believes he may also have been reacting when he felt the stench.
“I don’t know if he had a real angry face,” he said.
Shortly afterwards, the man’s supervisor went to Richards to discuss what had happened and to assure him that, despite the mistake, everything would be fine.
“‘You’ll be fine. The good news is you’re completely vaccinated,” Richards the supervisor said. Still, he remained annoyed and worried.
“I’m like,‘ This isn’t happening, ’” he said of his response.
Although medical experts who reached News 9 declined to comment on the situation due to a lack of data on the vaccine brand mix, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services published Wednesday in in the afternoon a statement that offered more peace of mind. The brand mix, while possibly not as ideal or as effective as receiving two shots from Moderna or Pfizer, is a safe alternative in an emergency, the department explained.
“A mixed series is safe, as (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) the recommendation recommends mixing the series if the first dose mark is not available in the second dose,” its statement said. “While there have been no clinical studies on whether a mixed series is as effective as a complete series, it will still provide sufficient protection so that a third dose is not necessary or recommended.”
The CDC guidelines, available on the organization’s website, state: “The safety and efficacy of a number of mixed products have not been evaluated. The two doses of the series have to complete with the same product ”. However, the CDC also states, “If two different doses of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine are administered in these situations (or unintentionally), no additional doses of either product are recommended at this time.”
Richards says Calvary has left him anxious to learn more, even though he is physically well.
“With everything that happens with Johnson & Johnson, he goes home and doesn’t care about the whole thing,” he said. “It simply came to our notice then. There is something wrong out there. “