Expired COVID-19 vaccine given out at Metro Vancouver pharmacy

Save-on-Foods has confirmed that pharmacy in one of its Burnaby locations administered expired AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to 10 recent customers.

In a statement, Save-on-Foods told Daily Hive that the doses – which were given out on April 5 – had an expiration date of April 2.

“As soon as we discovered the error, we immediately began contacting the impacted clients and making the appropriate disclosures and reports to the professional bodies,” the company said. “We have sincerely apologized to these customers who were impacted.”

Save-On-Foods noted that in light of this incident, it has take steps to “tighten, refine and reinforce our operational processes and related guidelines to ensure this remains an isolated incident.”

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The company also stressed that it understands the concern with receiving an expired vaccine “is the relative effectiveness of the vaccine.”

As such, Save-on-Foods said it has been in contact with health officials and has followed their guidance on how to continue vaccination of the affected customers “so they are protected from COVID-19.”

Daily Hive has reached out to the Ministry of Health for comment.