Italian woman is mistakenly given SIX doses of the Pfizer vaccine in one go – but suffers NO ill effects
- A 23-year-old student was kept in hospital for 24 hours after being given six doses of the Pfizer vaccine in error on Sunday
- The woman suffered no side effects and was discharged on Monday though doctors said they would continue to monitor her as a precaution
- Pfizer vials contain six doses which need to be extracted individually and diluted
- A nurse mistakenly injected the woman with a full vial and immediately alerted an attending doctor
A 23-year-old Italian woman has been discharged from hospital after receiving six doses of the Pfizer vaccine in error.
The woman, a student, was in a good condition after receiving fluids and paracetamol following the injection on Sunday, news agency AGI reported on Monday.
Instead of injecting just one dose into the arm of the student, a nurse at the Noa hospital in Tuscany mistakenly injected the entire vial, the equivalent of six doses.
The nurse immediately realised her mistake and alerted both the patient and an attending doctor.
The woman was kept in hospital for 24 hours under observation as a precaution.
Dr Antonella Vicenti, director of infectious diseases at Noa Hospital, told CBS that the woman had not suffered any side effects from the large dosage.
A 23-year-old Italian woman has been discharged from hospital after receiving six doses of the Pfizer vaccine in error [Stock image]
‘The patient did not have fever and did not have any pain except for pain at the inoculation site, nor any other manifestations,’ Vincenti said.
‘She was a bit frightened, thus we preferred to keep her here until this morning.’
Hospital spokeswoman Daniella Gianelli told CNN that doctors will continue to monitor the patient’s immune response.
They will take blood regularly and determine whether the woman requires a second shot of the vaccine.
Gianelli said the young woman was eligible to receive a vaccine ahead of others in her age group because she was an intern at the hospital’s psychology department.
At the beginning of April, vaccines became mandatory for healthcare workers in Italy.
Previous studies to test overdoses of the Pfizer vaccine were limited to four doses, AGI wrote.
The incident has been reported to Italy’s medicine regulator and the hospital has launched an investigation to review safety measures.
Dr Tommaso Bellandi, director of patient security for the northwest Tuscany health authority told CBS that the incident was down to human error.
‘This is something that should never happen. Unfortunately, due to our limits as human beings, as well as organisational limits, these things can happen.’
The woman, a student, was in a good condition after receiving fluids and paracetamol following the injection on Sunday, news agency AGI reported on Monday [Stock image]
He explained that vials of Pfizer vaccine contain six doses. These are extracted individually and placed in separate vials then diluted.
The nurse injected all of the liquid from an undiluted vial and realised her mistake after seeing five empty syringes next to it.
‘She thought that the dilution had taken place,’ said Bellandi. ‘They are both transparent liquids of the same density. Unfortunately, this contributed to the error,’ Bellandi said.
Overdoses of the Pfizer vaccine have previously been reported in the United States, Australia, Germany and Israel.
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