Italian nurse administered 6 vaccine doses in one shot, officials say

An Italian nurse accidentally administered six doses of the coronavirus vaccine in one shot this week.

The nurse, who was not named, reportedly was distracted when she mistakenly gave a 23-year-old Italian woman the shot of Pfizer vaccine on Sunday morning at the Noa Hospital in Tuscany, according to CBS News.

Following the incident, the woman was monitored for 24 hours in the hospital. Doctors provided her with fluids and preventative fever and anti-inflammatory medications during her stay, the news outlet noted.

“This person at this time will certainly not have side effects,” Antonella Vicenti, director of infectious diseases at Noa Hospital, told CBS News.

“The patient did not have fever and did not have any pain except for pain at the inoculation site, nor any other manifestations,” Vincenti continued. “She was a bit frightened, thus we preferred to keep her here until this morning.”

Vicenti explained that studies conducted on the Pfizer vaccine have shown that people who receive up to five-times the normal dosage do not exhibit negative reactions. She also cited incidents that occurred in Israel and Germany where patients were given five-times the normal dosage and did not have adverse reactions.

A director of patient security for the northwest Tuscany health authority, Tommaso Bellandi, confirmed to the outlet that the nurse administering the shot on Sunday was not paying attention.

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“This is something that should never happen,” he told CBS News. “Unfortunately, due to our limits as human beings, as well as organizational limits, these things can happen.”

Each vial of Pfizer vaccine holds six doses, which are then usually separated and placed in individual vials to be diluted, Bellandi said. He explained that on Sunday the nurse accidentally injected all of the vaccine from one undiluted vial.

“She thought that the dilution had taken place,” said Bellandi. “They are both transparent liquids of the same density. Unfortunately, this contributed to the error.”

According to CBS News, after the mistake was made, the nurse immediately recognized her error and notified the patient, her family and an attending doctor. The nurse was reportedly “heartbroken” over the incident.

“I’m not trying to justify something that we hoped would never happen,” Bellandi said while explaining that the hospital was extremely busy on Sunday. “We are extremely regretful, especially towards the young woman.”