Kaiser Members Given Less Than Recommended Dose of Pfizer COVID Vaccine At Walnut Creek Facility
WALNUT CREEK (CBS SF) -- Kaiser Permanente has alerted nearly 4,000 of its members who received a Pfizer COVID vaccine at its Walnut Creek Medical Center that they may have received less than a full dose.
The HMO has sent notices to those members this month offering appointments for another dose if they want one. The shots were given between October 25 and December 10 and Kaiser said the dose was "slightly less than the recommended dose of vaccine," between 0.01 to 0.04 ml less than the recommended 0.30 ml dose.
Kaiser said that after consulting with experts and reviewing guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the dosing error should not significantly reduce immunity.
"Once we became aware of this issue, we immediately consulted with experts in infectious diseases and vaccine science and reviewed guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)," said Kaiser in an emailed statement. "All experts agreed the difference between the recommended dose and the dose an individual may have received was not significant and not likely to reduce their protection against COVID-19. Nevertheless, Kaiser Permanente is offering to provide a repeat dose of Pfizer vaccine to any affected individual who wishes to receive it, offering special hours and locations."
Kaiser also said it determined the dosing error was an isolated incident resulting from some staff misunderstanding instructions and potentially drawing slightly less than the recommended vaccine dose; it said it promptly retrained staff and validated their understanding of the correct procedure.