Everything About the Incident Whereby a 103YO Was Accidentally Given a 4th COVID-19 Vaccine Dose

By
Boon Hun
-

Every day, thousands of COVID-19 vaccination shots are given out across Singapore in an effort to fight the global pandemic, which, you got to admit, is a massive undertaking.

So the health authorities here put into place systems that can minimise accidents, such as multiple checks at different stages during the vaccination process, showing the vaccine bottle to ensure the correct vaccine is given, and more.

But sometimes, accidents do still happen.

And the latest one is a 103-year-old lady.

Everything About the Incident Whereby a 103YO Was Accidentally Given a 4th COVID-19 Vaccine Dose

On 4 Feb 2022, the Ministry of Health (MOH) released a public statement regarding a 103-year-old lady.

The lady in question is a nursing home resident at Chai Chee Nursing Home, managed by ECON Healthcare.

She had previously received 3 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine but was given a fourth dose on 16 Dec 2021 by a mobile vaccination team from PanCare Medical Clinic.

Three days later, she was admitted to Changi General Hospital for pneumonia and hyponatremia.

Subsequently, doctors diagnosed that she suffered from a stroke and she, unfortunately, passed away on 10 Jan 2022.

Natural Disease Processes Common in Seniors

An autopsy found that the main cause of death was pneumonia.

Other factors which contributed to her death were cerebral infarction (or stroke) and coronary artery disease, both of which are common natural disease processes found in seniors.

The coroner has not found a link between these factors and the COVID-19 vaccine, MOH reported.

Thorough Investigation To Be Carried Out

Nonetheless, MOH says it takes a serious view of this incident and will be thoroughly investigating it.

MOH takes a serious view of this incident and is carrying out a thorough investigation under Regulations 14A(1) and 36(1) of the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Regulations.

14A(1) of the regulations states that a licensee of a nursing home must take all reasonable steps to:

  • ensure every nursing home resident receives appropriate nursing care
  • ensure the safety and wellbeing, and protect the privacy, of every patient residing at the nursing home

36(1) requires a medical clinic to make sure that every patient is provided with “adequate safety, privacy and comfort”.

The investigation will conclude in Feb 2022.

Preliminary Findings

Through preliminary investigations, MOH said that the vaccine could’ve been administered erroneously due to ” possible irregularities in vaccination procedures and poor communication between the nursing home and the medical service provider handling the vaccination.”

In other words, the procedure might not have been followed correctly, and there was a miscommunication between the two parties.

It was also emphasised that this is the first mistake made by a veteran mobile vaccination team that has done over 152,000 vaccine jabs to date.

Now, I know what you’re thinking:

Why Wasn’t This Revealed Earlier?

After all, it’s February now, and this happened back in December. Is something going on?

Well, turns out, MOH had wanted to reveal this in Dec 2021, they said.

However, they decided not to because the family wished to withhold details that could’ve identified their deceased family member.

Now, however, MOH is releasing the information after consulting with the family to clarify the situation.

Meanwhile, ECON Healthcare and PanCare Medical Clinic have reviewed their processes to ensure such an incident isn’t repeated again.

Both parties had also co-funded the 103-year-old’s hospital bills as a gesture of goodwill. The nursing home has also reached out to the family to offer their support.

The Importance of COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shot

Now, if after reading the incident above, you’re thinking, “COVID-19 vaccination jabs are dangerous”, don’t let that put you off from taking the jab.

After all, the booster shot is the only thing that’ll allow you to live in the new norm as a fully-vaccinated individual after 14 February 2022.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, the man who can speak both English and Chinese equally well, also said we might have to get a booster shot for COVID-19 every year.

Of course, he only mentioned it as a possibility.

For those who want to know more about booster shots in Singapore, you can read our very comprehensive article here.

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Boon Hun
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