Nurse In Germany Suspected Of Giving Out Saline Solution Instead Of Covid-19 Vaccine
Uh-oh.
Sabrina Bracher / Shutterstock A Red Cross nurse is under investigation by police in Germany for allegedly swapping out COVID-19 vaccine with shots of saline.
That means people who wanted the vaccine — and believe in the science behind its efficacy in spite of the conspiracy theories — may not be as safe as they think.
The Covid-19 vaccine is saving lives but the actions of this nurse, if true, could threaten our progress in ending this global pandemic.
Why did a German nurse allegedly give a fake vaccine to patients?
While the exact motive of the Red Cross nurse is not yet known, police investigators said that she had skeptical feelings about the vaccine — at least, according to her social media.
Police also said that by the end of April, a former Red Cross employee who worked at a vaccination center in Schortens, confessed to a colleague about filling syringes with saline solution instead of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine — six syringes, to be exact.
The center’s operators said that the unidentified nurse dropped a vial containing the vaccine, and tried to cover it up.
The nurse was fired straight away. After that, authorities performed antibody tests on people who visited the vaccination center that day.
Because it was impossible to figure out who received the shot of saline solution, people were invited back to get another shot of the vaccine. As the investigation continues, authorities realized that more are affected by this than they had hoped.
Police suspect thousands of people were given fake vaccines — denying them their right to this important health precaution.
Authorities said that the nurse was working at a vaccination site in Friesland. She is suspected for providing thousands of residents with fake COVID-19 shots around March and April 2021.
Sven Ambrosy, a Friesland district administrator, took to Facebook to notify the public.
"I'm totally shocked by the incident," he said. "The district of Friesland will do everything possible to ensure that the affected people receive their vaccination protection as soon as possible."
A call was made to approximately 8,600 people. as they may have potentially received saline solution instead of the vaccination.
There is a possibility that anyone who received a vaccine from March 5, 2021 to April 20, 2021 at the site location, received a saline solution instead.
Officials are urging people to get vaccinated again as a precaution.
Officials are insisting that anyone who got vaccinated at the Roffhausen Vaccination Center, during March 5, 2021 to April 20, 2021, get vaccinated again .
Or technically not again if they were never vaccinated in the first place.
“For peace of mind,” Ambrosy urged patients, “we would recommend people get an additional vaccination.”
The healthboard in the state where the alleged incident occured is also advising the same.
"In this situation,” said Matthias Pulz, president of the Lower Saxony State Health Office, “it is important that all those who may be affected are offered catch-up vaccinations.”
“This is the only way to ensure complete vaccination protection,” he said, “Even if persons have already been correctly vaccinated twice.”
Injecting saline solution is not dangerous.
Luckily, the saline solution that was swapped out with the actual vaccine is not dangerous.
However, not receiving the proper COVID-19 vaccination puts yourself and others at risk.
Officials are contacting people who may have received a fake vaccine by phone or email. In addition, a free information phone line was created to address people’s concerns over this occurrence.
So far, it is unclear if there have been any arrests related to the case or if charges will be brought against the nurse.
Izzy Casey is a writer who covers pop culture, news, and entertainment for YourTango.