"Mistaken Moderna for AZ"…Accidental Administration of 'No Cross Vaccination' Vaccine in Gangneung

Moderna Vaccine Administered to 40 AZ Second Dose Recipients
Health Authorities: "No Adverse Reactions Reported Yet, Monitoring Continues"

[Source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] An incident occurred at a medical institution in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, where an employee mistakenly administered a vaccine that is not allowed for cross-vaccination.

According to Gangwon Province and Gangneung City health authorities on the 24th, on the morning of the 23rd, 40 people including Mr. B (72), who were scheduled for the second dose of AstraZeneca (AZ), were given the Moderna vaccine at medical institution A in Gangneung.

Both Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are mRNA (messenger RNA) based, but cross-vaccination with the AZ vaccine is only permitted with the Pfizer vaccine.

Residents like Mr. B, who received the first dose of the AZ vaccine, were scheduled to receive the second dose with the AZ vaccine on that day, and the vaccination form also indicated the second dose as the AZ vaccine.

Health authorities believe that a recently hired employee at medical institution A confused the Moderna vaccine for the AZ vaccine and administered it by mistake.

The misadministration was recognized by another employee, and health authorities are monitoring the recipients for any adverse reactions.

A health official stated, "It appears that the administering employee either misread (optical illusion) or confused the vaccine type, and currently there are no unusual reactions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.