North Carolina Walgreens accidently administers saline instead of COVID-19 vaccine
Walgreens is investigating how the mix-up occured
A Walgreens in North Carolina accidentally inoculated some patients with saline rather than the COVID-19 vaccine.
The mix-up occurred with "a limited number of patients" one of the company's pharmacies in Monroe, North Carolina, Walgreens told FOX Business.
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The store immediately reached out to each person that was mistakenly given saline and set up a COVID-19 vaccination "as soon as the impacted patients were available to return to the pharmacy," Walgreens said.
A Walgreens pharmacy in Miami Beach, Florida. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
"We are investigating what happened and have taken immediate steps to review our procedures with the location to prevent this from occurring again," Walgreens said.
Walgreens doesn't believe the mix-up posed any harm to the patients.
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The company also noted that this will not impact the patients' second dose.
This situation, however, isn't unique to Walgreens. In March, a Kroger clinic in Virginia mistakenly injected customers with empty syringes rather than giving them the actual COVID-19 vaccine.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WBA | WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE INC. | 8.30 | +0.06 | +0.73% |
| KR | THE KROGER CO. | 58.55 | +0.94 | +1.63% |
Originally, Kroger thought the customers were injected with saline rather than the vaccine, calling it an "honest mistake," WTVR reported. But it turned out that the syringes had nothing in them at all.
Similarly, customers were also immediately informed of the mishap and received a proper COVID-19 shot, according to Kroger.
VIRGINIA KROGER LOCATION ACCIDENTALLY GAVE OUT EMPTY COVID-19 SHOTS
The two mishaps come as both companies have been accelerating efforts to vaccinate Americans.
Walgreens and Kroger began administering vaccinations at the end of December as part of the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program.
By March, Kroger was already delivering one million doses per week at its pharmacies and clinics.
To date, Walgreens has administered more than 11 million COVID-19 vaccinations at its 7,000 stores and off-site clinics.