Some Oakland, Calif., residents mistakenly alerted about vaccine underdosing: report

Officials with the California Health Department were scrambling to allay residents’ fears this week after too many people received a letter telling them they may have received a too-weak dosage of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.

The letters were supposed to go to people who visited the Oakland Coliseum vaccination site but by mistake the letters also were delivered to people who used the Eastmont Mall site, FOX 2 of the Bay Area reported.

Either way, there was no cause for alarm regardless of which site people visited, health officials told the station.

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Ali Bay, a health department spokeswoman, said the mix-up likely occurred because both vaccination sites were being managed by the same agencies, the California Office of Emergency Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Oakland Coliseum, home of MLB’s Oakland A’s, has been used as a vaccination site.

Health officials believe as many as 6,300 people visiting the Coliseum site may have received less vaccine in their shots than they were supposed to, but the weaker dose was still considered strong enough to defend against the virus, the officials told FOX 2.

After those recipients receive their second vaccine shot, that will make up for the weaker first shot, they said.

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FOX 2 first learned of the problem with the dosages when two paramedics who requested anonymity contacted the station.

The error was attributed to Coliseum vaccination staff being provided a different type of syringe that wasn’t fully pushing out the vaccine into people’s arms, according to FOX 2.

The lesser doses were believed to be distributed from 4:30 p.m. Feb. 28 to 3 p.m. March 1, until the problem was corrected, FOX 2 reported.