A media event to raise awareness and remove any misgivings regarding the COVID-19 vaccine backfired badly for University Medical Center of El Paso, Texas, after several nurses were poked with empty syringes. The video of a nurse receiving vaccine shot from an empty syringe went viral on social media.
Since the outbreak of the global pandemic, Texas has recorded more than 1.55 million cases of coronavirus and over 25,000 deaths. Following the roll out of the Pfizer vaccine in US on Monday, the nurses were the first in line to receive the shot of the vaccine.
Hospital Vaccinates the Nurses Again
The goof-up came to light when certain members of the media watched the videos and pictures of the event closely. Reporting about the massive blunder, KFOX14 said that they noticed the discrepancy when the second nurse, out of the five, went to be vaccinated.
The viral video shows a nurse being prepared to receive the vaccine. However, the syringe being used for the same appears to be empty with the plunger already depressed, reported the outlet. Further, once injected the nurse administering the shot does not appear to move the plunger.
Denying any wrongdoing or blunder, the hospital authorities issued a statement to the outlet stating: "After numerous reports emerged on social media claiming one of the five nurses receiving a vaccination on Tuesday did not receive a full dose of vaccine, we want to remove any doubt raised that he was not fully vaccinated and further strengthen confidence in the vaccination process."
"The nurse in question today was vaccinated again. UMC has confirmed with the US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) that re-vaccinating the nurse will not cause adverse effects. The nurse will need to return after three weeks to receive his second dose," read the statement further.
Anti-Vaxxers Blamed For Fueling the Situation
Even as the video the incident went viral, several social media users blamed the anti-vaxxers for blowing it out of proportion.
Commenting on the video uploaded independent journalist Tim Pool, Democrat strategist Nate Lerner tweeted, "It's really weird how anti-vaccine you are. You've been hanging out with Alex Jones too much, my guy."
"A mistake that probably happened because of the media attention. The real question is, what are you trying to accomplish with this tweet? Furthering distrust in institutions that function great while still being susceptible to the occasional bit of human error?" tweeted another.
"Fake vaccine injections being televised. Notice: Empty syringe It is all an illusion," said a user as other added, "#EmptySyringe: it's all faked folks. Just another lie for the Sheeple (us). I'd rather die of Covid19 or 21 or whatever than take one of those shots!"
