Health officials in West Virginia accidentally gave 42 people Covid-19 antibodies in place of the vaccine

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According to a statement from the West Virginia National Guard, recipients would receive their first doses of the Moderna vaccine on Wednesday at a clinic run by the Boone County health department.

Instead, they received a Regeneron antibody product, which is used to treat Covid-19.

“The moment we were made aware of what had happened, we immediately acted to correct it, and we immediately revised and strengthened our protocols to improve our distribution process to prevent this from happening again,” said Major General James Hoyer, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard, in the statement.

The National Guard leads the planning and logistics for the distribution of the vaccine.

Boone County’s health department said it notified the 42 people and offered to give them the Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday.

Officials said it was an isolated incident but did not explain how the confusion took place when they came for further comment.

Regeneron’s antibody cocktail uses a combination of two engineered proteins of the immune system that are usually infused – a different method from the injections used in vaccination.

Boone County is located south of Charleston, the state capital.

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The National Guard said the Department of Health and Human Resources would contact those who received the antibodies as a precaution.

Dr. Clay Marsh, the state’s czaar of Covid-19, said there were no risks to the 42 people.

“The product administered is antibodies that fight COVID-19,” Marsh said in the statement. “In fact, this product was the same that was given to President Trump when he became infected. While this injection is not harmful, it was substituted for the vaccine. But this incident provides our leadership team with an important opportunity to improve safety and vaccination process for every West Virginiaan. “

The National Guard said 7,855 were vaccinated in West Virginia on Wednesday.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 2.7 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the United States and more than 12.4 million have been distributed.
US officials had pledged to vaccinate 20 million people by the end of 2020.

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