Friesland: saline solution instead of vaccine

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Vaccination center in Schortens

Photo: Mohssen Assanimoghaddam / dpa

After an employee at a corona vaccination center in Friesland had filled six syringes with saline solution instead of the Biontech vaccine, the district is now inviting 117 people to take antibody tests to find out who has received an ineffective dose.

For 80 other potentially affected people, however, the situation is a little more complicated.

An employee of the DRK in the Schortens vaccination center accidentally dropped an ampoule with Biontech on April 21.

Actually, she should just have reported this bug.

However, the woman covered it up by filling six syringes with saline solution instead of the vaccine - not harmful to those affected, but ineffective.

A few days later, the woman confessed to a colleague who reported the incident.

197 potentially affected

Since it could no longer be traced who had received one of the syringes affected, the district subsequently contacted all 197 people who had been vaccinated during the period in question.

117 of these people were in Schortens for the first vaccination and will be tested for antibodies on Wednesday in Jever and Varel, as the district announced.

Since the eventual vaccination was two weeks ago, antibodies should have formed in the body of someone who was actually vaccinated.

This will be determined with a blood test.

Results are expected after about three days.

The remaining 80 people were on site for a second vaccination.

No antibody test can be carried out on them, because it would be unclear whether the antibodies still come from the first syringe or from the second.

According to the district, these people will instead be asked about possible vaccine reactions, as strong symptoms often occur after the second vaccination with Biontech.

Dozens get a third dose

“If there was a strong vaccination reaction after the appointment [on April 21], then the vaccination was also given.

No further vaccination will be given for these people, ”says the district's announcement.

This is the case with six of the people reached so far.

If there was no vaccination reaction, the person is offered a further - possibly third - vaccination.

According to the Standing Vaccination Commission of the Robert Koch Institute, this is harmless, but the vaccination reaction in such a case could be even stronger than after a second vaccination.

62 of those affected want to take this option.

Twelve people have not yet been interviewed.

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