Virginia pharmacy gives wrong COVID doses to kids

LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. (WRC/NBC) – A pharmacy in Virginia gave the wrong COVID-19 vaccine dosage to some children, worrying parents and leading health officials to send out a warning Wednesday.

Ted Pharmacy in Loudoun County admitted to giving children 5 to 11 a dose of the vaccine meant for people 12 years and older.

The Virginia Department of Health said about 112 children in Loudoun County are affected.

Dasha Hermosilla noticed that the vial given to her daughter had a purple cap instead of an orange one which is meant for younger children.

Hermosilla said the pharmacist told her it was OK but a simple google search later confirmed that it was not.

Another mom had the same question and later shared a screengrab on Facebook in which the pharmacy admitted to the mistake and apologized for the “inconvenience.”

“The way they have dealt with individuals is really, like, ‘Oh, it’s no big deal,'” Hermosilla said. “But there are dozens and dozens of families out there that don’t even know that this is an issue.”

Ted Pharmacy relinquished the rest of its COVID-19 vaccines to the Loudoun County Health Department.

Officials later released an alert about the pharmacy’s error, encouraging parents to consult with their child’s pediatrician.

According to the CDC, if a dosage of the vaccine meant for people 12 and older is given to younger children, parents can wait 21 days to restart the correct COVID-19 vaccine series.

The Loudoun County Health Department said parents can also decide to proceed with getting the second dose as scheduled, ensuring it is the correct vaccine with the orange cap.

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