Becker's Hospital Review

84 CMO / CARE DELIVERY Nurse accidentally administers empty syringe at Colorado COVID-19 vaccine clinic By Erica Carbajal A contract nurse working at a COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Pueblo, Colo., accidentally administered an empty syringe to a patient, local news station FOX 21 reported Jan. 21. Health officials at the clinic notified the patient, Rosalee Pike, 82, that there was a problem with her vaccine while she was in the site's post- COVID-19 vaccination zone, her granddaughter told NBC affiliate KOAA. Jamie Withnell, Ms. Pike's granddaughter, took a picture of her grand- mother as she received the vaccine. In the photo shared with KOAA, the vaccine syringe appears empty. In an incident report obtained by KOAA, the medical staff worker who administered the vaccine wrote, "Prefilled syringes had been delivered to my work station. When I took a syringe and injected the vaccine -- the syringe was empty." In a statement shared with FOX 21, a spokesperson from the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment said the syringe was new since routine safety protocol requires used syringes be discarded im- mediately. The health department identified the mistake through "nor- mal safety processes," and provided the patient with a COVID-19 vacci- nation after determining the person was safe. "We have since instituted additional safety measures to ensure this doesn't happen again — limiting the number of people filling syringes and having fewer additional people in the room. We are reviewing safe- ty protocols with all contracted-nurses again and provide safety briefing each day before the vaccination clinics begin," the statement said. n Pfizer vaccine found highly effective in real world study in Israel By Maia Anderson P fizer's COVID-19 vaccine is about as effective in real world use as it was in clinical trials, according to a study that took place in Israel and was published Feb. 24 in The New England Journal of Medicine. The study was conducted by Clalit Research Institute in Israel and experts from Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., and Boston Children's Hospital. It took place from Dec. 20, 2020, to Feb. 1, The New York Times re- ported. It was the first large-scale, peer-re- viewed study of the vaccine's performance in real world use. The study showed Pfizer's vaccine reduced symptomatic COVID-19 cases by 94 per- cent a week after the second dose, and re- duced severe COVID-19 disease by 92 per- cent. It included more than a million people ages 16 and older, with roughly 600,000 people receiving the vaccine and the rest in a control group, the Times reported. The vaccine was 46 percent effective at pre- venting COVID-19 infection 14 to 20 days after the first dose and 92 percent effective seven days after the second dose, accord- ing to the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Poli- cy. A single dose was 74 percent effective against COVID-19 hospitalization, and 72 percent effective at preventing death. The study also included about 22,000 people ages 80 and above who received the vaccine. It found that there was no re- duction in the vaccine's efficacy among older people. The study also indicated that the vaccine is effective against B.1.1.7, the virus vari- ant first detected in the U.K., the Times reported in February. A day after the study was released, Feb. 25, the FDA said Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine can be stored and transported at temperatures found in typical pharmaceutical freezers instead of requiring them to be stored at ultralow temperatures that require special- ty freezers. This should ease the burden for vaccination sites, experts have said. n DC declares gun violence public health emergency By Mackenzie Bean M ayor Muriel Bowser formally declared gun violence a public health crisis in Washington, D.C., Feb. 17 and announced a $15 million investment to address the issue, e Washington Post reported. Ms. Bowser said the city will use this initial investment to create a gun violence pre- vention emergency operations center staffed by D.C. government leaders special- izing in job training, mental health counseling and housing, among other services. Linda Harllee Harper, senior deputy director of the district's Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, will serve as director of the emergency operations center. e center will focus on people most at risk of becoming a victim or perpetrator of gun violence and create individualized support plans surrounding housing stability, career and workplace readiness, mental healthcare and academic support. Washington, D.C., reported 198 homicides in 2020, most of which involved guns. is figure marks a 19 percent increase from 2019 and the highest annual total recorded since 2004. Overall, 922 people were shot in the city last year, one-third more than in 2019, according to the Post. n

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