Downtown Hy-Vee pharmacy administers wrongly diluted COVID-19 vaccine doses
Feb. 27—MANKATO — An oversight at Riverfront Hy-Vee's pharmacy in Mankato recently led to 62 patients receiving wrongly diluted first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The pharmacy consulted with third-party physicians to confirm there's no reason for medical concern related to the doses, according to a statement. The statement went on to say no patients reported side effects.
"As soon as we were made aware of the incident, we started personally calling the affected patients," the statement read. "We have reached out to the manufacturer and are working with each of the patients on next steps. We also have reported this information to the appropriate regulatory agencies and have retrained all of our pharmacy staff members at this location."
The oversight occurred when two pharmacy staff members used doses mixed with a sterile water injection diluent rather than saline diluents provided by Pfizer. Sterile water is reportedly commonly used to dilute injections.
It's unclear whether the patients will need to receive another first dose.
The pharmacy chain began administering vaccine doses in Minnesota earlier this week, after joining Thrifty White and Walmart in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program. Hy-Vee is still committed to providing doses, according to the statement.
After joining the state network receiving allocations through the federal program, area Hy-Vee pharmacies no longer needed doses through the South Central Health Care Coalition. The coalition was allocating doses to 28 clinics, hospitals and pharmacies in the region, but Hy-Vee's inclusion in the federal program lowered the number to 23.
Many of the state's largest health systems, including Mayo Clinic Health System and Allina Health, receive allocations through separate channels.
Among the 23 places eligible for vaccines through the coalition, six received a combined 1,100 doses this week, said south-central coordinator Eric Weller.
Another 1,270 doses are slated for next week as numbers pick up following last week's severe weather.
"Almost 100% is out within 72 hours of getting it," Weller said of the turnaround once allocations arrive. "We're not stockpiling it; we're getting it out and we need more vaccine."
The state's goal is for vaccine providers to administer at least 90% of vaccine doses within three days of receipt. Providers are meeting the goal for the most part, and state and local officials have been consistent in saying low supplies continue to hold back vaccine progress.
Severe weather elsewhere in the country delayed vaccine shipments last week, forcing local vaccination sites to cancel appointments. Mankato Clinic ended up not receiving its allocation, so it rescheduled patients for this week.
"We administered 450 vaccine doses to our eldest patients from age 100 to 85 this week," said Dr. Amy Boles of Mankato Clinic Family Medicine in a statement. "It has been very rewarding to witness the relief and happiness this vaccine is bringing to our patients."
Limited weekly supplies are likely to continue, she added.
"We understand that many of our elderly patients do not have access to the internet," Boles stated. "So as we are notified of incoming vaccine, we are calling our patients to schedule vaccine appointments, beginning with our eldest patients."
The clinic is encouraging patients to get the vaccine as soon as they can wherever available.
As of Friday's update from the Minnesota Department of Health, about 14.3% of residents in south-central Minnesota received first doses. About 6.6% were completely vaccinated.
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