SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Friday (Feb 4) that it is conducting a “thorough investigation” into a 103-year-old woman who was mistakenly given a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The woman, a resident of ECON Healthcare – Chai Chee Nursing Home, received her fourth dose of the vaccine in December by a mobile vaccination team at PanCare Medical Clinic. She died the next month.
“The resident had previously received three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, but was mistakenly given the fourth dose on December 13, 2021,” the ministry said.
“On 16 December 2021, the resident was admitted to Changi General Hospital with pneumonia and hyponatremia, and was subsequently diagnosed with a stroke.”
She passed away on January 10.
“Her death was reported to the coroner, who ordered an autopsy. The autopsy found that the main cause of death was pneumonia, with other contributing factors being cerebral infarction (or stroke) and coronary artery disease, both natural diseases common to older adults. process.
“The coroner has not yet determined whether these deaths were linked to vaccination,” the ministry said.
The ministry said it “takes this incident seriously and is conducting a thorough investigation”. The investigation is expected to conclude in February.
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“Our preliminary findings are that vaccines are being administered incorrectly due to possible irregularities in the vaccination procedures and miscommunication between nursing homes and healthcare providers who handle vaccinations,” it said.
“This is the first instance of a mobile vaccination team mistaking a vaccine due to the wrong identity, out of more than 152,000 vaccinations to date.”
ECON Healthcare Group said in a statement that the error was discovered about five minutes after the vaccination.
“The team from ECON and PanCare took care of the residents and extended the observation period. The residents did not have any adverse reactions during this period,” it said.
“ECON and PanCare are taking this incident seriously and have reviewed our processes to prevent a recurrence.”
It also said it had been supporting residents’ families and would “continue to do so”.
The Ministry of Health added that it plans to announce the incident in December. “However, the resident’s family requested that details that could lead to resident status be withheld,” it said.
“We have since consulted the family further and are releasing information to clarify the incident.
“We understand that ECON Healthcare Group and PanCare Medical Clinic have jointly funded the resident’s hospital bill, which is a gesture of goodwill. ECON Healthcare has also been reaching out to the resident’s family to support them.”
The Ministry of Health added: “Both ECON Healthcare and PanCare Medical Clinic have reviewed their processes to prevent recurrence. The Integrated Care Facility tasked with promoting vaccinations in nursing homes has reminded all nursing homes to ensure proper communication with mobile vaccination teams when vaccinating .
“The Ministry of Health also reminds all mobile vaccination teams to carry out independent identification and certification before administering any vaccine.”
