20 people mistakenly given AstraZeneca vaccine instead of Moderna

At the MartiniPlaza GGD vaccination location in Groningen, 20 people were accidentally vaccinated with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine instead of the Moderna vaccine for which they had received an invitation.

The incident took place on Saturday morning between 9:10 a.m. and 9:35 a.m. The mix-up came to light when an employee noticed that two ampoules of the AstraZeneca vaccine had been prepared while getting other vaccines ready.

On their website, the GGD wrote that they regret the mistake. “In the meantime, measures have been taken to prevent similar instances from occurring in the future”, GGD Groningen wrote. The GPs of the 20 people who received the wrong vaccine have been informed of the mix-up.

In mid-June, four people were also accidentally vaccinated with AstraZeneca instead of Moderna by the GGD Hollands Noorden.

In rare cases, AstraZeneca can lead to severe side effects such as blood clotting. Since the beginning of April, AstraZeneca was, therefore, no longer used to vaccinate people under the age of 60.