Over 100 children in Loudoun County, Virginia have been given incorrect doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The incorrect doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot were administered to 112 children under 12-years-old at Ted Pharmacy in Aldie on November 3 and 4.
The Virginia Department of Health confirmed on Friday that the young children were given doses approved for people 12 or older — not the one for children 5 through 11-years-old.
“Because they did not have the children’s formulation they used the adult formulation but only gave a third of the amount to the children,” said David Goodfriend, director of the Loudoun County Health Department in a statement obtained by the Washington Post. “Our understanding from Ted Pharmacy is they were trying to do a workaround, which is not authorized.”
Goodfriend explained that the children likely either received too much or too little of the vaccine solution.
“For those 12 years and older, the dosage of the adult formulation is 30 micrograms (0.3 ml). Our understanding is that Ted Pharmacy attempted to give the correct 10 microgram dosage to those under 12 by administering 0.1 ml of the adult formulation,” Goodfriend told WUSA 9.
The health department official said that they were alerted to what the pharmacy was doing by an attentive parent.
In their report on the matter, the Federalist noted that “just two weeks ago, an FDA committee member admitted he didn’t know the long-term risk of administering the vaccine to children but approved it anyway. ‘We’re never going to learn about how safe the vaccine is until we start giving it,’ he said.”
Federal authorities have now instructed Ted Pharmacy that they are no longer authorized to give the vaccines. The Virginia Department of Health has confiscated their remaining supply.
“VDH is also working to contact parents and ensure they understand the guidance on next steps,” the department’s statement said. “VDH has not received any other reports of pharmacies or providers administering COVID-19 vaccines formulated for 12 years and older to children 5-11 years old.”
