Nurse fired for giving leftover Pfizer jabs to her family
A Sydney nurse has been sacked after administering leftover Pfizer vaccinations to her family members.
The woman was vaccinating residents of an aged care facility when she had three doses of the highly sought-after vaccine leftover at the end of the day.
Instead of letting these soon-to-be expired vaccines go to waste, she gave them to her daughter and two nephews, who were all eligible to receive Pfizer.
The nurse of 40 years was fired on the spot from her not-for-profit contractor, despite several pleas to keep her job in the face on the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
The woman told 2GB that she believes she "did the right thing."
"I mean part of the code of conduct is to be smart and cost-effective”, she said.
The woman's former employer, Healthcare Australia, said she was let go after failing to comply with the federal government's strict excess dose policy.
The policy states doses should be given to those aged care residents who can provide immediate consent, before being given to facility staff, resident's family members or carers, or those who frequent an aged care facility.
A spokesperson for Healthcare Australia said the nurse should've followed the instructions for vaccine disposal, despite Dr Kerry Chant stressing she did not want to see "any wastage of Pfizer".
Around 460,000 vaccines were administered in New South Wales last week, as the Delta variant continues to ravage the state.
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