Some People Are Receiving the Wrong RSV Vaccine

Key Takeaways

The CDC has issued a warning about RSV vaccines being given to individuals for whom those vaccines were not authorized. RSV vaccines—Abrysvo and Arexvy—are not approved for use in infants or young children, with the Abrysvo vaccine being the only RSV vaccine recommended for pregnant individuals. An immunization known as Beyfortus is approved for infants and young children.Vaccine errors are rare; however, it is recommended to verify with your provider to ensure that you’re receiving the correct vaccine and dosage.

This fall saw the introduction of immunizations to prevent RSV in high-risk groups: older adults, pregnant individuals, and young children. While the rollout has been affected by shortages from the beginning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently brought attention to a new problem: Some RSV vaccine recipients received a shot intended for a different group.

In approximately 128 instances, pregnant individuals were mistakenly given a vaccine that’s only approved for adults 60 and up. In about 25 cases, children under 2 years old received a vaccine only approved for adults.

This news was communicated to clinicians through a CDC clinician announcement, according to Ann Philbrick, PharmD, associate professor at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy.

Currently, there are two RSV vaccines: Abrysvo (manufactured by Pfizer) and Arexvy (manufactured by GSK). Both are FDA-approved for individuals over 60 years of age, with Abrysvo also approved for pregnant individuals between 32 and 36 weeks gestation. A monoclonal antibody immunization called Beyforus (manufactured by Sanofi and AstraZeneca) is approved for use among babies entering their first RSV season and children up to 2 years of age.

The healthcare facilities that made the errors reported them to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), which is monitored by the FDA and CDC. Most of the error reports described no adverse events, indicating that most patients did not have a serious reaction.

The CDC, FDA, and other federal agencies are continuing to monitor the safety of RSV vaccines and following up with affected patients more closely.

How the Errors Happened

The errors mainly occurred in doctor’s offices and pharmacies.

“It was likely a combination of all three products being released in short succession of each other and lack of knowledge of the specifics of each product,” Philbrick said.

Vaccine errors are rare, according to Steve Grapentine, PharmD, BCPS, a pediatric infectious disease pharmacist at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. He recommends that patients request to view the label of the product being administered or double-check with the provider or pharmacist administering the vaccine. 

“These errors were unfortunate, but they do provide an important learning opportunity for those that provide vaccines,” Philbrick said. “Locally, whichever healthcare facility made the error will hopefully review all steps of their process to try to mitigate the chances of repeating the error, though they are not mandated to do so.”

What to Do If You Got the Wrong Vaccine 

Your provider is required to make you aware of any vaccine administration errors they learn about.

If you believe you’ve received the wrong vaccine, report it to your primary healthcare provider and monitor for any serious reactions, including but not limited to mild fever or severe muscle soreness.

“If a serious reaction were to occur, that would likely happen within the first 15 minutes after vaccine administration,” Grapentine explained. Most other reactions happen in the first 24 hours. “Fortunately, most vaccines are well-tolerated even when given incorrectly.”

Though nobody experienced severe side effects from this mixup, experts don’t think the RSV vaccines will become interchangeable among the different high-risk groups any time soon.

“None of these products are interchangeable,” Grapevine said. “Arexvy and Abrysvo are each dosed in micrograms and technically contain the same amount of RSV vaccine, but you cannot make direct comparisons between the two. Vaccine and medication strengths are unique to that specific product. Beyfortus is dosed in milligrams and not technically a vaccine, so it’s even more different.”

What This Means For You

If you believe that you have received the wrong RSV vaccine, report the error to your primary care providers and keep an eye on your symptoms for any serious reactions.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

By Kayla Hui, MPH

Kayla Hui, MPH is the health and wellness ecommerce writer at Verywell Health.She earned her master’s degree in public health from the Boston University School of Public Health and BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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