KEY POINTS

  • A mixup in West Virginia's vaccination efforts resulted in 42 people receiving the wrong drug
  • All affected patients were given the COVID-19 vaccine the next day, and none are in danger from the blunder
  • Vaccination efforts have been halting and beset by errors, with 'Operation Warp Speed' vaccinating barely a tenth of its December goal

A group of 42 people in West Virginia was given the Regeneron monoclonal antibody treatment instead of the intended COVID-19 vaccine. Regeneron’s treatment can help patients already afflicted with COVID-19, but provides no protection against becoming infected.

The blunder occurred at a vaccination center run by the Boone County Health Department. Administrators say that it was a one-time error and none of the people affected are at any risk from the drug.

“It has been determined that this was an isolated incident,” Boone County administrator Julie Miller told CNBC. “All of the affected individuals will be offered the COVID-19 vaccine today.”

Miller did not go into specifics about the source of the error. Neither the Governor’s office nor the West Virginia National Guard, who is overseeing vaccine distribution, responded to CNBC’s requests for comment.

Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, an adjutant general in the West Virginia National Guard, released a statement saying that the mixup was corrected immediately and troops continue to build on vaccine distribution efforts.

“We immediately reviewed and strengthened our protocols to enhance our distribution process to prevent this from happening again,” he said.

The year ended with positive news about vaccines after the pandemic ravaged the globe
The year ended with positive news about vaccines after the pandemic ravaged the globe University of Oxford / John Cairns

This is only the latest blunder in a vaccine rollout beset by delays and mistakes. ‘Operation Warp Speed” has administered barely a tenth of the vaccines it had hoped to by the end of December, with doses sitting in warehouses while manufacturers wait for the government to give them a shipping address.

It’s an especially bad time to drop the ball, with holiday infection surges driving fatalities to grim new milestones each weed. Dec. 30 saw 3,800 deaths in a single day, and officials predict January could be even worse.

“If you look at the slope, the incline of cases we’ve experienced as we’ve got into the late fall and soon-to-be early winter, it really is quite troubling,” Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN. “The worst is yet to come.”

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