Woman Accidentally Given Six Doses Of Coronavirus Vaccine

A woman in Italy was accidentally given six doses of the coronavirus vaccine after a healthcare worker made a mistake when filling the syringe.

The 23-year-old woman was given the vaccine at the Noa hospital in Tuscany on Sunday.

Following the incident, she was kept in for observation for 24 hours, and was given fluids plus anti-inflammatory and fever medications as preventative measures. She has since been released and is 'in good health', CBS reports.

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Dr. Antonella Vicenti, director of infectious diseases at the hospital said: "This person at this time will certainly not have side effects."

He went on: "The patient did not have fever and did not have any pain except for pain at the inoculation site, nor any other manifestations.

"She was a bit frightened, thus we preferred to keep her here until this morning."

Daniella Gianelli, a spokesperson for the hospital told CNN the nurse filled a syringe with an entire bottle of the vaccine, that actually contained six doses - the nurse only realised her mistake after giving the vaccine.

Gianelli said: "She saw five empty syringes and realised her mistake."

She went on to say an internal investigation had been launched but said it was 'maybe just human error, definitively not on purpose'.

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Doctor Tommaso Bellandi, director of patient security for the northwest Tuscany health authority, told CBS: "This is something that should never happen.

"Unfortunately, due to our limits as human beings, as well as organisational limits, these things can happen."

Bellandi explained that the vials of the vaccine each contain six doses that are then extracted and diluted in another vial before being administered.

However, the nurse ended up giving out the entire undiluted vial in a single dose.

Explaining how the incident come to happen, he said: "She thought that the dilution had taken place.

"They are both transparent liquids of the same density.

"Unfortunately, this contributed to the error."

Doctors will not monitor the woman's immune response to the 'massive dose', Gianelli added.

The woman, who does not have any underlying health conditions, was able to get the vaccine sooner than others in her age group because she was working as an intern at the hospital's psychology department.

Topics: Coronavirus, Italy

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19