Several people who went to a Virginia Kroger clinic to receive the COVID-19 vaccine this week were mistakenly given empty syringes.
A Kroger spokesman confirmed to The Hill on Thursday that one of his locations at The Little Clinic “made a mistake and administered empty syringes instead of the COVID-19 vaccine.”
“All affected customers have been contacted and have now received the COVID-19 vaccine,” the spokesman added. “We apologize for this oversight and for the inconvenience caused to these customers.”
A spokesman for the food and pharmacy retailer told WWC’s Richmond affiliate WWBT on Wednesday that the incident occurred at its location in the suburban town of Midlothian.
Kroger told WRIC, a local ABC affiliate, that “less than 10” people were affected by the mishap at The Little Clinic, and said previous company statements that the syringes were filled with saline had were determined to be incorrect following further investigation. investigate.
Carrie Hawes, one of the people who received a blank shot, told WWBT that she received an appointment for Johnson & Johnson vaccination Monday night at the Kroger location.
Hawes, who qualified for the Group 1B vaccine for people 65 and younger with underlying medical conditions, told local media he received a phone call the next day informing her of the mistake.
“My initial reaction was shock and surprise and a little anxiety,” she said, adding that she managed to return to the store within hours of the phone call to receive the correct vaccination.
A Kroger spokesman told The Hill that the company had been in contact with the Virginia Department of Health to address the issue and that clinic workers had now been retrained to administer the correct vaccine administration.
The spokesman said on Thursday that the company had so far administered nearly 1 million coronavirus vaccines at its locations across the country.
“Kroger encourages everyone to receive any vaccine available to them as soon as they become eligible,” the spokesman added.
– Updated at 13:46