6 people injected with saline instead of COVID-19 vaccine at Vaughan hospital

A hospital system servicing York Region says six people were mistakenly injected with saline instead of a COVID-19 vaccine.

A statement from Mackenzie Health issued on Monday said the incident happened on March 28 at the Mackenzie Health COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic, which is located at Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital.

“Saline is used to dilute the COVID-19 vaccine prior to administration. Receiving a saline injection does not cause any harm, however this should not have happened,” the statement said.

Their “internal quality assurance process” led to the issue being identified in a “timely manner” and the affected people were contacted and offered support, the statement said.

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They were also tested for antibodies to see if they needed to receive another shot.

“We sincerely apologize for the error and for the uncertainty and concern this situation has caused,” Mackenzie Health said.

“We have undertaken a full review of our processes and have implemented additional safeguards to prevent this from happening again.”