42 people mistakenly received treatment with antibodies instead of COVID-19 vaccine

More than three dozen people were mistakenly given Regeneron monoclonal antibody treatment instead of the Moderna vaccine, the West Virginia National Guard said Thursday

Forty-two people received the antibody product, intramuscularly, at an immunization clinic hosted by staff from the Boone County Health Department. The treatment, which received emergency use clearance from the Food and Drug Administration in November, is normally given as an intravenous infusion.

“This was determined to be an isolated incident,” Boone County Health Department administrator Julie Miller told ABC News.

Joint Interagency Task Force medical experts do not believe there is a risk of harm to these 42 people, and all of those who received the monoclonal antibody have been contacted or are in the process of being contacted, according to the Guard. West Virginia National.

Regeneron is a drug cocktail made up of antibodies designed to fight COVID-19. The drug was administered to President Donald Trump when he fell ill with the virus.

“The moment we were made aware of what happened, we acted immediately to correct it, and we immediately reviewed and strengthened our protocols to improve our distribution process to prevent this from happening again,” Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, adjutant general of the West Virginia National Guard, said in a press release.

Since there is currently no data on the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in people who have received monoclonal antibodies as part of COVID-19 treatment, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that “vaccination be postponed for at least 90 days, as a precautionary measure until further information becomes available, to avoid interference of antibody treatment with immune responses induced by the vaccine.”

However, despite the CDC’s recommendation, the West Virginia National Guard told ABC News that “there is no fear that this will reduce individuals to 90 days” and that “all 42 people are offered the vaccine. today”.

Miller said the Boone Department of Health will continue to work closely with the State National Guard and West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources to review all internal policies and procedures.

“While this injection is not harmful, it has been replaced by the vaccine. But this event provides our management team with an important opportunity to review and improve the safety and the vaccination process for every West Virginian,” the Dr. Clay Marsh, the state’s COVID. 19 Tsar, said.

Sony Salzman and Sasha Pezenik of ABC News contributed to this report.