Amsterdam care worker given two different vaccines

Municipal health service GGD Amsterdam accidentally vaccinated a healthcare worker with two different coronavirus vaccines, instead of two doses of the same vaccine as is protocol. The 60-year-old woman first received a Pfizer vaccine in early February, and then an AstraZeneca vaccine on March 1, Hart van Nederland reports based on a letter the GGD sent the woman, which is in its possession.

A spokesperson for the GGD told Hart van Nederland that this mistake was due to human error, which is not acceptable. "That is why we have now adjusted the control mechanisms," they said. "There is a unique bar code on the shots, people receive a letter, employees ask questions." There is therefore multiple points to make sure the person gets the same vaccine both times. 

"The group that is currently being vaccinated is mostly elderly. You cannot point them to their own responsibility. The organization must arrange it properly," the GGD spokesperson said. 

In the letter sent to the affected healthcare worker, a doctor of the GGD's infectious disease department wrote that there is no data available on "the effectiveness of a series consisting of two vaccines from different manufacturers".

Despite this, the woman won't be called back for a third vaccine so that she received either two Pfizer or two AstraZeneca shots. "The [public health institute] RIVM has guidelines for what happens when someone receives two different vaccines. The guideline at the moment is that no third shot needs to be given," the GGD said in the letter.