4-year-old mistakenly given adult COVID-19 vaccine instead of flu shot

A 4-year-old girl in Maryland was given the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine instead of the seasonal flu shot she was scheduled to receive at her local pharmacy, according to a report by the Baltimore Sun.

Victoria Olivier brought her daughter to get the flu vaccine to a Walgreens in Baltimore, where a pharmacist mistakenly administered her an adult dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

The vaccine has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for children under 12.

Phil Caruso, a spokesperson for Walgreens, told Fox News in an email that patient safety is the company’s “top priority.”

“Events like this are extremely rare and we take this matter very seriously,” Caruso wrote in a statement. “We are in touch with the patient’s family and we have apologized. Our multi-step vaccination procedure includes several safety checks to minimize the chance of human error. We’ve recently reviewed this process with our pharmacy staff in order to prevent a future occurrence.” – READ MORE