Over 100 patients, staff erroneously receive lower dosage of Covid-19 vaccine at Bukit Merah Polyclinic

SINGAPORE — Over a hundred patients and staff received a lower than recommended dosage of the Covid-19 vaccine at Bukit Merah Polyclinic between Oct 20 and 22 following an error administering the vaccine.

In a press release on Sunday (Oct 24), SingHealth, which oversees Bukit Merah Polyclinic, said that the incident occurred due to an error in identifying the correct markings on a new type of syringe that was recently introduced in the clinic. 

As a result, a total of 111 patients and 6 staff received a much lower dose at about 10 per cent of the recommended dosage, it said.

SingHealth said that immediate actions were taken to determine the extent of the error and patients were notified as soon as possible following the detection of the incident.

“Our investigations have also confirmed that the incident is an isolated one, and all other vaccinations and services in our polyclinics are not affected,” it added.

Arrangements are being made for affected patients to be vaccinated with a full replacement dose at its polyclinics as soon as possible.

It added that the initial reduced dose is unlikely to cause any adverse reactions and it is clinically safe for patients to proceed with the replacement dose, in accordance with current vaccination guideslines by the Ministry of Health.

“As an added precaution, all affected patients will be assessed by a doctor before they receive their replacement dose at our polyclinics,” it said. 

Dr Adrian Ee, the chief executive of SingHealth Polyclinics apologised to affected patients and their families for the anxiety and inconvenience caused.

He added that staff have been reminded of the proper use of the new syringe to administer the Covid-19 vaccine. 

“We would also like to reassure our patients that we have thoroughly reviewed our processes, and will ensure that staff are familiar with the use of new devices.”