Hospital Accidentally Gives Woman Wrong Vaccine As Second Dose

 A hospital has accidentally dished out the wrong second Covid vaccine dose to a woman, in what is believed to be the first error of its kind in Britain.

The patient — who wasn't identified — turned up at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon expecting to receive another shot of the AstraZeneca jab.

But a mix-up meant she got the Pfizer vaccine instead, her husband told the Swindon Advertiser.

The woman said she felt okay afterwards but was left furious over the error.

The hospital has launched an internal review into how the mistake happened.

Britain's medical regulator says Covid vaccines should not be mixed, and everyone should receive the same second dose as they did for their first jab.

Scientists don't believe it is unsafe to alternate doses but say further data is needed to confirm this before the move is given the go-ahead. Oxford scientists are currently trialling whether the doses can be alternated, in the hope of making them more potent. 

Coronavirus vaccines made by Moderna and Novavax will be added to a 'mix and match' trial, scientists say.

Britain's medical regulator currently requires everyone to have two doses of the same jab — either AstraZeneca, Pfizer or Moderna.

But Oxford University experts are testing whether alternating second doses could provoke a stronger immune response.

Their trial — which could revolutionise Britain's roll-out — was already assessing the effects of combining doses of AstraZeneca and Pfizer.

Another 1,000 volunteers were recruited to the study to test combinations including vaccines made by Moderna and Novavax.

Experts say mixing jabs is unlikely to pose any safety concerns and predict it could lead to shots being even more effective at preventing an infection with the virus.

In the wake of AstraZeneca's blood clot fears, France approved giving recipients an alternative second dose. Germany made the same move for under-60s.

But until evidence is gathered they can't say for certain whether it works or whether it is safe.

Britain has only recommended under-30s are offered an alternative and that anyone who has already had their first dose should come forward for their second, unless they suffered the extremely rare complication.

Oxford's mix-and-match trial was first launched in February, to investigate whether alternating doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines boosted efficacy.

The woman's husband, who was also not named, blasted the hospital and said they had made it clear his wife needed the AstraZeneca jab.

'I couldn't believe it, it's a huge error and very concerning,' he told the newspaper.

'They told us this is the first time it's happened — not just in Swindon but in the UK.'

Explaining how the error happened, he said: 'The call handler asked her (my wife) which vaccine she had last time so we assumed that would be written down and passed on to the medics.

'We split up into different rooms and when we came out, she told me what happened.'

He added: 'Afterwards a doctor came out and said sorry, but said we think you will be ok.

'It does not make sense, there would be a number of fail safes in place to ensure this does not happen. We couldn't understand how or why this had occurred.'

The woman said that at no point during the appointment did the healthcare staff ask to see the card she got after her first dose, although it was face up on the table in clear view.

Great Western Hospitals said despite the mix-up, the woman will not now need a third dose because the second should work to boost immunity from the first. 

A spokesman for the Great Western Hospital said: 'We have offered our sincere apologies for giving her a different Covid vaccine as her second dose.

'We have taken advice from the South West Clinical Advice and Response Service, an external service that provides vaccination centres with expert advice and guidance.

'It advised that both of the currently authorised vaccines in this situation are based on the spike protein and so the second dose will work as it should to boost the response to the first dose.

'For this reason, no further doses are required, and we do not anticipate any ill effects arising from this.'

They added: 'We are reviewing the current pathways within our vaccination hub to learn from this incident and make sure similar incidents are avoided in the future.'

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has ruled that Britons should not receive a different second dose to their first.