Frankfurt (AFP)
A nurse was under police investigation Sunday in Germany after admitting to injecting saline solution to six patients to cover up the fact that she had dropped a vial of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.
Authorities asked 200 people who had been vaccinated at the German Red Cross vaccination center in Friesland (northern Germany) last Wednesday to come forward urgently so that they could be tested for antibodies in the goal of finding the six people who did not receive the vaccine.
Police in Wilhelmshaven / Friesland said in a statement that they had opened an investigation into possible bodily harm caused by the nurse, while stressing that the saline did not pose any health risks.
It is also common for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be diluted with saline solution before being administered.
The nurse responsible for preparing the injections accidentally dropped one of the vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
She later confessed to a coworker that she used saline instead, and the coworker sounded the alert on Saturday.
"The woman said the reason for her act was to avoid having to tell anyone about the fallen vial," the police statement said.
Local authorities have set up a call number for people vaccinated on the day of the incident to come forward.
"I am deeply shocked by the incident," said Frize administrator Sven Ambrosy, adding that authorities have now introduced the "four eyes" rule at the vaccination center to ensure that no one is left alone with vaccine vials.
In France, 140 patients who came to be vaccinated against Covid-19 on Tuesday in a vaccination center in the north-east of the country received by mistake an injection of physiological serum (saline solution) instead of a dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine .
© 2021 AFP