What should we do if we give an injection by the wrong route (SC instead of IM)?

Your practice should put procedures in place to ensure that you always give vaccines by the recommended route because data regarding safety and efficacy of alternate routes are limited. If this does inadvertently happen, ACIP and/or CDC recommends that if hepatitis B, rabies, HPV and inactivated influenza vaccines are administered subcutaneously the doses should not be counted as valid and should be repeated.

ACIP states that If PCV13, Hib, and/or DTaP are administered by the subcutaneous route, providers have the discretion to repeat the doses. There is no minimum interval between the invalid dose and the repeat dose. ACIP and/or CDC recommends that if HepA, MenACWY, IPV, PPSV23, COVID-19, and RZV vaccines are administered subcutaneously, the doses can count and do not need to be repeated. ACIP/CDC has no recommendation for Tdap, Td, MenB, Typhim VI, or JE-VC.