Victor Smith, a resident of Hamilton, Ohio, which is a suburb located within the Cincinnati metropolitan area, received his first dose of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine at Fort Hamilton Hospital on Jan. 22. According to Smith's daughter, Dawn Smith-Theodore, Smith was "extremely tired" after receiving his first shot and that he experienced a fall.
After spending some time under observation at Fort Hamilton Hospital, he was transferred to Jamestowne Rehabilitation, a therapy facility just one mile away run by the nonprofit Community First Solutions. (Related: Texas doctor fired after administering 10 doses of coronavirus vaccine that were about to expire to family, acquaintances and strangers.)
While Smith was recovering at Jamestowne, the medical workers attending to him scheduled him to get his second dose of the Moderna vaccine at the Butler County Fairgrounds, also in Hamilton, on Feb. 25.
On the day of his second dose, healthcare workers brought him over to the fairgrounds where he got his shot, and he came back. The whole affair happened without much incident.
"When he came back, I spoke to him. He was good," said his daughter. But the situation took a turn for the worse when he was given another dose of the Moderna vaccine just a few hours later.
"And then at 3:45, I guess a city firefighter came in and said they have a shot for Victor," said Smith-Theodore. "The nurse [asked] 'Victor Smith?' and the firefighter said 'yes,' so they gave him the room number and sent him to room 202, which is where my dad was."
Smith nearly died after two doses
After Smith received his second vaccine, he complained to his daughter about the incident. According to Smith-Theodore, either the first dose or the second one was meant for someone else named Victor with a different surname.
Moments after Smith received the second dose, he went into respiratory distress and Jamestowne rushed him to Fort Hamilton Hospital. When Smith-Theodore was informed of the situation, she had been led to believe that her father's life was in danger.
On Facebook, Smith-Theodore posted a picture of her and her father, along with a message that explained what happened.
According to Smith-Theodore, after her father went into respiratory distress, Fort Hamilton Hospital's emergency department informed her that her father was dying.
"Hold my dad in your thoughts and prayers… He is hanging in there, but it has been a rocky road," wrote Smith-Theodore. "Trying to find out the effects of receiving two vaccines in such a close timeframe … I just do not want this to happen to anyone else."
Smith-Theodore said that, when her father was admitted, his blood pressure was so low – 86 over 47 – that the doctors could not give him the medication that would have helped get rid of the fluid building up in his lungs.
"I want to see that this doesn't happen to anybody else," she said.
Smith-Theodore, who lives in Calabasas in Southern California, was not allowed to fly over to Ohio to visit her father because she was not vaccinated. She heard from her father in a call on Mar. 1, where he only said two words to her.
"So, I haven't seen my dad in a year," she said.
Fortunately for Smith and his daughter, his condition improved after a week in distress.
Brandon Saurber, Director of Neighborhoods for Hamilton, along with Danielle Webb, Vice President of Marketing and Community Relations for Community First Solutions, released a joint statement to WLWT, NBC's affiliate station in Cincinnati, regarding Smith's condition after he was believed to be in the clear:
"An incident occurred where a City of Hamilton resident inadvertently received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on the same day. The individual was a patient of Jamestowne Rehabilitation where all vaccinations are completed by outside parties who are trained and appropriately certified, in this case the City of Hamilton Fire Department. Jamestowne staff recognized the patient’s signs of distress and responded immediately. The patient was transported to the hospital and the family was promptly contacted. Both Jamestowne and the City of Hamilton Fire Department have begun investigations into the incident. Our thoughts are with the patient and his family as he continues his recovery."
Neither the city, Fort Hamilton Hospital nor Community First Solutions have released any information into how Smith could have received two vaccinations. As of press time, the investigation is ongoing.
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