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Boy, 16, wrongly given Moderna vaccine but 'remains well', thorough review done to prevent repeat: MOH

SINGAPORE — A 16-year-old student has been wrongly given a first dose of the Moderna vaccine, instead of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine approved for his age group. This happened on Thursday (June 3), the first day of the national vaccination programme that was extended to schools and institutes of higher learning.

A 16-year-old boy went to a vaccination centre at Kolam Ayer Community Club (left) and got the Moderna vaccine (right) when he was not old enough to receive it.

A 16-year-old boy went to a vaccination centre at Kolam Ayer Community Club (left) and got the Moderna vaccine (right) when he was not old enough to receive it.

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  • A student was given one dose of the Moderna vaccine against Covid-19 
  • The vaccine is not meant for those below the age of 18
  • An expert committee on Covid-19 vaccination said that it reviewed the case and does not expect any safety issues 

 

SINGAPORE — A 16-year-old student has been wrongly given a first dose of the Moderna vaccine, instead of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine approved for his age group. This happened on Thursday (June 3), the first day of the national vaccination programme that was extended to schools and institutes of higher learning.

In a joint media statement early on Friday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ministry of Education (MOE) said that the teenager was given an “erroneous administration” of the Moderna vaccine at the vaccination centre located in Kolam Ayer Community Club.

The mistake was discovered when staff members at the vaccination centre identified that the boy was under 18 years of age during the post-vaccination observation period.

“As an additional precaution, he was placed under a longer observation time of 50 minutes, and remains generally well,” the two ministries said.

On MOH's website, it is stated that the vaccination centre at Kolam Ayer Community Club administers only the Moderna vaccine.

Investigations found that the boy’s date of birth had been wrongly entered when booking a vaccination appointment after receiving the sign-up link.

“This resulted in his age being incorrectly registered as above 18 years of age, making it possible for a Moderna vaccination centre to be selected,” the ministries said.

“The vaccination centre staff had failed to verify his age during registration, which should have been carried out.”

Individuals below the age of 18 will be offered only the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, based on the Health Sciences Authority's approval of the medical suitability of the vaccines.

Individuals aged 18 and above may opt for the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine.

In their statement, MOH and MOE said that the safety of those receiving the vaccination is of utmost priority and that they take a “serious view of this incident”.

“We apologise for the inconvenience and anxiety caused, and have reached out to the youth’s parents to explain the situation,” they said.

“A thorough review of our internal processes at vaccination sites has been carried out by MOH to prevent a recurrence.

“This includes strengthening our online registration process to ensure individuals make appointments at suitable vaccination centres based on their eligibility, as well as putting in place more stringent protocols at our vaccination sites to verify eligibility," they added.

“We are in close contact with the individual and his family, and will continue to monitor his health closely and provide the necessary support.”

In a separate statement, MOH's expert committee on Covid-19 vaccination said that it reviewed the incident and it does not “expect any safety issues from the receipt of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine” in this case.

“The medical team will consult the expert committee on what would be best for the youth for the completion of the vaccination,” it said.

It noted that data from a trial involving more than 3,700 adolescents aged 12 to 17 has found that the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine is “safe and effective among adolescents with no significant safety issues identified”.

“The majority of adverse events were mild or moderate in severity, and the common ones were injection site pain, headache, fatigue, muscle aches and chills,” the committee said.

“(We) will continue to closely monitor the global evidence and developments on Covid-19 vaccines, in particular the emerging data on the efficacy and safety of vaccine use for more population subgroups, as more people are vaccinated globally and locally,” it added.

Related topics

Covid-19 coronavirus MOH MOE student vaccination Moderna

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