San Francisco — At least 6,300 people received less than the recommended dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine during a two-day period in Oakland.
They received 0.2 ml of the vaccine instead of the recommended 0.3 ml at the Oakland Coliseum between Feb. 28 and March 1. Officials said there was a problem with the syringes.
Despite receiving a smaller dosage, the California Department of Public Health said there should not be a concern.
According to an email from the Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that a dosage of 0.15 ml or more “is safe and does not require the dose to be repeated to protect people against COVID-19.” So those who received the less-than-recommended dosage, received an amount within the range CDC outlined.
The mistake happened when new syringes from Pfizer were shipped, according to KTVU. California officials said that the low-dose “syringes don't push out all the medicine, which the healthcare staff didn't originally see and figure out until later on.”
The issue with the syringes has since been corrected, and the Department of Health is currently sending out messages to those vaccinated during that time period to notify them of the issue.