62 patients at Mankato’s Riverfront Hy-Vee location received incorrectly diluted COVID-19 vaccinations

Hy-Vee says 62 patients recently received incorrectly diluted COVID-19 vaccinations due to an oversight by staff, the store said on Friday.

The error happened at the Mankato Riverfront location. Two pharmacy staff members used vaccines mixed with a sterile water injection diluent – which is commonly used to dilute injections – rather than the saline diluent provided by Pfizer.

According to Hy-Vee, after receiving confirmation with several third-party physicians on the vaccination process, they concluded there is no reason for medical concern for those affected. The store added that no patients have reported any side effects, as of Friday.

Some Minnesota teachers express frustration after vaccine mix-up at Hy-Vee

"As soon as we were made aware of the incident, we started personally calling the affected patients. We have reached out to the manufacturer and are working with each of the patients on next steps," the Hy-Vee location said in a statement, in part.

The incident was also reported to appropriate regulatory agencies and the store has retrained all of its pharmacy staff members.

"We remain committed to playing an important role in administering the COVID-19 vaccine in our local communities," the location said.