SALEM, Conn. (WTNH) – Last month, some expired COVID-19 vaccines were administered to patients at the CVS Pharmacy in Norwich.
If you received your COVID 19 vaccine from the CVS pharmacy in Norwich last month you may have gotten a phone call. That’s because some patients who got the shot…
“… between Oct. 14 to Oct. 21 inadvertently received a COVID-19 vaccine that had gone past its Oct. 13 expiration date. We contacted all affected patients to apologize,” said Michael DeAngelis, senior director of Corporate Communications.
“Well I was very upset because I thought, ‘how can you make such a mistake?’” said Mary Ann Ferren of Salem.
The outdated vaccine she received was her second Moderna shot.
“Moderna had published its expiration dates in a database online.”
She says she was told CVS didn’t check it until after the expired shot was given.
“As a matter of precaution, we also offered to revaccinate them at their convenience, as the effectiveness of the vaccine they received cannot be determined,” said DeAngelis.
Ferren says that CVS did offer her another shot if she wanted it. But she says she has concerns about that because the CDC is recommending booster shots six months after the second shot. So she wouldn’t want to get a shot that soon after just getting her second shot last month.
But she does realize she may not be fully protected.
“I think it’s a reasonable concern but, again, I wouldn’t rush out and get another vaccine without speaking to my doctor first,” said Ferren.
She has this advice for others especially parents whose children are now getting the shot: “These are questions you should ask before you allow this to happen,” said Ferren. “’What vaccine is this? What is the lot number, and what [is] the expiration date?’”
CVS reported the incident to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is taking steps to try to prevent this from happening again.