West Virginia mistakenly gives 42 people Regeneron IV Covid treatment instead of vaccine injection

Dozens of people in West Virginia have mistakenly received Regeneron’s Covid-19 antibody treatment instead of the Moderna vaccine, the West Virginia National Guard said Thursday.

State National Guard said 42 people received the treatment, administered intravenously, at a vaccination clinic staffed with the Boone County Health Department. The National Guard said it learned of the mistake on Wednesday.

Everyone who has received the antibody treatment instead of the vaccine, which is given by injection into the arm, has been contacted, Boone County Health Department administrator Julie Miller told CNBC by email. She added that “we do not believe that there is a risk of injury”.

Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody treatment, which is to be given by IV infusion, is seen as a promising treatment for Covid-19 – especially when given early in infection. But the confusion in West Virginia is just one example of confusion in the rush to distribute the vaccine to tens of millions of people. Deployment was slower than expected and marked by logistical challenges.

“It was determined that this was an isolated incident,” Miller said. “Everyone affected will be offered the COVID-19 vaccine today.”

She said the Department of Health will work closely with the state National Guard and the Department of Health and Human Resources to review its policies and procedures.

Miller did not provide any details on the cause of the confusion.

Representatives from the West Virginia National Guard and the West Virginia Governor’s Office did not return CNBC’s request for further comment on how the error occurred.

West Virginia National Guard adjutant General James Hoyer said in a statement his troops “acted immediately” to correct the error as soon as they found out what had happened. “We immediately reviewed and strengthened our protocols to improve our distribution process to prevent this from happening again,” he said in a statement.

He added that the state will continue to speed up vaccine distribution “to save more and more lives every day.”

Dr Clay Marsh, the state’s Covid-19 czar, noted in a statement that the Regeneron treatment mistakenly given in place of the vaccine is the same product “that was given to President Trump when he was infected. “.

“Although this injection was not harmful, it was replaced by the vaccine,” he said. “But this event provides our management team with an important opportunity to review and improve the safety and vaccination process for every West Virginian.”