Back-to-Back COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Cause 91-Year-Old Man to Go Into Shock

A 91-year-old man from Ohio had gone into shock following accidental back-to-back COVID-19 vaccine doses in one day, news reports presented.

According to an ABC 7 Report, the man identified as Victor Smith was given his first shot on January 22. However, he later became fatigued from the injection, a common side effect. WLWT-TV also reported that the old man also experienced a fall.

An Amputee, Smith was confined at the hospital and then transferred to a Hamilton, Ohio-based rehab facility, Jamestowne Rehabilitation.

In late February, the man was still at the rehabilitation facility when he was scheduled for his jab at a county vaccination center. 

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(Photo : Michele Tantussi/Getty Images)
According to the CDC, the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine may be administered up to six weeks or 42 days following the first dose if necessary. This means that the second dose should not be received earlier than the recommended interval.

Mix-Up

The patient's daughter, Dawn Smith Theodore said, they transported her father to get his shot, and when he returned from vaccination, she was able to spoke to him saying he was good.

That same day, patients at the rehabilitation center were also being injected with the vaccine. However, there was a mix-up between rehab patients who had similar names at the facility, and Smith, Newsweek reported, was injected with another dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

According to the said media organization, this was Smith's third shot, just four hours after his second dose of the vaccine.

Essentially, mRNA vaccines require only two doses of the vaccine administered about three or four weeks apart.

Theodore shared that she guessed a city firefighter entered the rehabilitation center and said they had that shot for Victor and the nurse replied with her dad's name. 

They then gave the firefighter her dad's room number where Smith stayed. That's when and where her dad said he had two vaccines.

Gone into Shock

Following his third dose, Smith's body reportedly had gone into shock and he developed low blood pressure. Theodore was told that her father was not going to make it.

Fortunately, though, there was an improvement in Smith's condition, and he is currently recovering well, news reports said.

In a statement, the City of Hamilton and Community First Solutions, operator of the Jamestowne Rehabilitation facility said, an incident took place where a resident at the City of Hamilton accidentally received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in just one day.

Staff at the rehabilitation facility acknowledged the signs of distress of the patient and responded to the occurrence immediately.

Jamestowne, as well as the country fire department which provides the vaccine for the facility, are currently investigating the case.

The facility also stated that their thoughts are with the patient, including his family, as he continues to recover from the effect of the back-to-back vaccinations.

Number of Shots and Days Needed for a COVID-19 Vaccine

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with both COVID-19 mRN vaccine, one needs two shots to achieve the benefits and get effectively protected. The timing on the other hand, between the first and second shot relies on which vaccine is received.

For an individual getting the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, doses should be administered with three weeks or 21-day interval. Meanwhile, Moderna doses need to be administered with a one-month or 28-day interval.

Lastly, the health agency said one should get a second shot as close to the recommended three-week or one-month interval as possible.

Nonetheless, the second dose may be administered up to six weeks or 42 days following the first dose if necessary. This means that the second dose should not be received earlier than the recommended interval.

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