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The Brampton Guardian
Eleven children receive adult dose of H1N1 vaccine
The Brampton Guardian
Friday November 6 2009
By PETER CRISCIONE
 
BRAMPTON - Eleven children under the age of six received adult doses of the H1N1 vaccine at a flu vaccination clinic in Brampton, Peel Public Health has confirmed.

A single nurse administered the doses and the problem was caught and rectified soon after the first child received the adult dose level, Peel Health spokesperson Janet Eagleson said. 

“There was an error. It was isolated to a single nurse and it was caught right at the beginning of a shift so it was caught well under an hour of that person starting,” Eagleson said. “Not very many people had gone through that station (before the problem was noticed).”

Peel Health issued a statement Thursday after a Brampton resident raised alarm bells over a mishap at the H1N1 vaccine clinic on Indell Lane Monday evening.

The resident conveyed concerns that, for a time, adult dosages (0.5 mL) of the vaccine were being administered to children under the age of six.

A child dose is 0.25 mL, though there are no significant side effects for children that receive the adult dosage level, according to Peel Health.

Dr. Kathleen Dooling, Peel’s associate medical officer of health, expressed regret at the situation and stressed that public health has tightened measures to ensure such an incident is not repeated.

However, since Dooling’s statement, one more person has come forward publicly after learning their child received an adult dose.

“This is just another symptom of the knee-jerk reaction to a problem our local, provincial, and federal governments create on a daily basis— nurses giving inoculations that should be given by a doctor,” stated Ted Hedrich, whose three-year-old child also received a 0.5 mL dose.

The nurse who administered the vaccine was immediately “pulled off the station” by their supervisor and spoken to, said Eagleson noting that nurses receive extensive training on vaccinations. 

After that, health officials contacted the parents of children who received the higher dose and provided information on potential side effects.

Parents were also advised to call their doctor if they had any further concerns.
 “All the individuals have been contacted,” Eagleson said.

By the end of Thursday, Peel Health administered 24,656 doses of the vaccine.

H1N1 vaccination clinics in Peel will be closed from Sunday through to Wednesday due to a vaccine shortage, reopening on Thursday.

For more information on the H1N1 vaccine visit www.peelregion.ca or call 905-799-7700.