OREANDA-NEWS. About 260 people received doses of the expired Pfizer coronavirus vaccine in the French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, according to radio station France Bleu.

This batch of vaccines, thawed on August 6, was used for vaccinations from September 7 to September 21, according to the region's Regional Health Authority (ARS), despite the expiration date of September 5. According to the radio station, among those vaccinated with these doses of vaccines were about 100 students from seven colleges in the Department of the Loire.

The National Agency for the Safety of Medicines said there were no identified health risks for people vaccinated with this batch of vaccines, but there are no guarantees of their effectiveness, the radio station said. In this regard, students will be asked to re-vaccinate as the previous vaccination is no longer valid.

As noted by France Bleu, ARS recognizes the "collective mistake of specialists."

According to the French sanitary agency Santé publique, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of cases in France is more than seven million people, more than 116 thousand have died. The vaccination campaign in France began at the end of 2020. More than 50 million French people have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.