West Virginia health clinic mistakenly injects dozens with antibody treatment instead of coronavirus vaccine

The West Virginia National Guard claims it mistakenly injected 42 people with Regeneron Antibody instead of a Moderna coronavirus vaccine.

The National Guard admitted the mistake on Wednesday when the antibody treatment was administered at a clinic hosted by the Boone County Health Department staff.

Guard officials said medical experts do not believe there is any risk of harm to those who received the wrong medication.

“The moment that we were notified of what happened, we acted right away to correct it, and we immediately reviewed and strengthened our protocols to enhance our distribution process to prevent this from happening again,” said Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, Adjutant General of the West Virginia National Guard. “I remain incredibly proud of all that our team has accomplished. Our number one goal has been to save lives, and, as we continue to ramp up distribution of the vaccine all across the state, we continue to save more and more lives every single day.”

The mistake is highly unusual because Regeneron’s drug, a cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies, is given by infusion, rather than as a shot.

Keep in mind, Regeneron is given via IV drip while the vaccine is a simple shot in the arm....

West Virginia health officials mistakenly gave 42 people Regeneron IV Covid treatment instead of vaccine shot https://t.co/vSw47ad9ik by @WillFOIA

— Dawn Kopecki (@Dawn_Kopecki) December 31, 2020

Those who received the treatment, which is given intravenously, were informed of the error, Julie Miller, an administrator for the Boone County Health Department, told CNBC.

Inbox: Yesterday the West Virginia National Guard learned of an error which resulted in 42 people receiving Regeneron Antibody product instead of the Moderna Vaccine. They received the antibody product at a vaccination clinic hosted by staff at the Boone County Health Department. pic.twitter.com/PtzqLlIced

— Howard Altman (@haltman) December 31, 2020

The antibody treatment, developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, is designed to prevent those infected with covid-19, the disease caused the coronavirus, from developing severe illness. It was given to President Donald Trump when he was stricken by the virus in October and granted emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration in November.