Nearly 9,000 people in Germany need to be re-vaccinated after nurse trades salt water vaccines

• Nearly 9,000 people need another vaccine after a nurse changed the doses to saline in April.

• The nurse dropped a vial of Pfizer vaccine and used a salt water solution instead.

• Police discovered that the nurse may have exchanged the vaccine several times.

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Almost 9,000 people in Germany need to be re-vaccinated after a nurse who administered the vaccine trades the vaccine for harmless salt water solution.

After dropping a vial of Pfizer vaccine in April, a German nurse replaced the COVID-19 injections with saline and administered them to patients instead, Metro UK reported.

But police discovered that the nurse may have exchanged the vaccine several times.

Local authorities have said nearly 9,000 people vaccinated between March 5 and April 20 will need another injection to be safe, state radio NDR said. All those affected were over 70 years old and were vaccinated at the same location in Schortens-Roffhausen, according to the report.

Peter Beer, deputy chief of the Wilhelmshaven / Friesland police station, told the outlet that authorities came to the conclusion after interviewing several witnesses in June. Authorities said people who may have been given the salt water solution in place of the vaccine would be contacted to make up for the missing dose, according to the report.

Anyone vaccinated on site during the period can receive another dose, as authorities do not know who and exactly how many received the salt water solution. German health officials said patients “vaccinated” with the saline did not pose any health risk, NDR reported.

When the situation arose in April, authorities used antibody tests on people they suspected had not received an actual dose of the vaccine to determine if they had received it. But officials said that because the vaccinations took place months ago, antibody tests will be less useful, NDR reported.

An investigation into the nurse’s motives is underway, authorities said. Investigators said the woman shared social media posts that criticized the vaccinations, according to the report.

About 57% of the German population is vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data analyzed by Reuters.

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