Nurse who gave Iowa inmates vaccine overdoses appeals firing

vaccine

Iowa City, IA (AP) — One of two Iowa prison nurses fired for her role in accidentally giving dozens of inmates large overdoses of the coronavirus vaccine is appealing her termination, arguing she is “blameless” for the mix-up.

The Iowa Department of Corrections fired Amanda Dodson, a registered nurse at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison, in May after an investigation found 77 inmates received shots containing up to six times the recommended dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

Dodson and her union have appealed her firing to the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board, arguing it was unjust. A union spokesman says the errors happened after the prison abruptly switched from the Moderna to the Pfizer vaccine and failed to train nurses on a key change in how they are delivered.