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 said ‘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.’
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.
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.