One child experienced fatigue as a side-effect.
Seven young children in Ireland were given an adult dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by mistake, according to the health products regulator.
In a statement to JOE, the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) said no suspected side effects were reported in six of the young children, while one experienced “fatigue for a short duration”.
Comirnaty – the Covid vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech – has been recommended for children aged 5-11 at a dose of 10 µg, as opposed to 30 µg in those aged over 12 years.
According to the Irish Examiner, the mistakes became known when the children went to mass vaccination centres to receive their second dose and vaccinators noticed the wrong information on their card.
“To date, the HPRA has received seven reports of medication errors where a child received an adult dose of Comirnaty (30 micrograms) instead of the dose indicated in this population (10 micrograms),” the health products regulator said.
“All seven reports were in association with the first dose of Comirnaty, with the majority administered in vaccination centres and the remaining administered in a pharmacy/GP practice setting.
“No suspected side effects were described as being experienced in six of the reports with one report describing fatigue for a short duration.
“It is important to note that there is no requirement for healthcare professionals to report medication errors without an associated suspected side effect to the HPRA.”
The HPRA operates the national side effect database, a voluntary reporting system where members of the public and healthcare professionals are encouraged to report suspected side effects in association with medicines and vaccines.
For more information on reporting a suspected adverse reaction to a Covid vaccine, visit the HPRA’s website here.
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