Hong Kong health authorities apologise after 2 children given wrong vaccines

Hong Kong health authorities have apologised for mistakenly giving pneumococcal vaccines to two children at a health centre instead of hepatitis B jabs.

The errors were detected during a regular check when personnel at the Tin Shui Wai Maternal and Child Health Centre reviewed vaccination records after service hours on Monday, a spokesman for the Department of Health said on Thursday.

They discovered an inconsistency in the number of vaccines administered between 4pm and 5.30pm.

During the period, seven children were supposed to have received the hepatitis B vaccine. But the records showed two doses were unused, while two extra shots of the 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV15) were administered.

After checking the vaccine stock, it was confirmed two children had mistakenly received the pneumococcal vaccine due to nursing staff error, the spokesman said.

“The Department of Health has instructed all Maternal and Child Health Centres to strengthen the training of frontline staff to ensure that they strictly follow the internal guidelines on checking vaccine and patient information before administering vaccines, and verifying the information with the person accompanying the child for vaccination to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents,” the spokesman said.

“The nursing staff involved in the incident have been suspended from vaccination duties. If it is confirmed that any staff involved has committed misconduct, the case will be dealt with in accordance with the established procedures.”