An 8-year-old boy accidentally received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Texas, thanks to “human error,” said a report.
The child was recently inoculated at a Dallas County vaccination unit operated by first responders in Grand Prairie after the boy’s father registered him online through a county website and got an appointment, reported NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth.
The three COVID-19 vaccines that are currently available in the United States are for use only in individuals 18 years or older or 16 years or older, depending on the manufacturer.
Pediatrician Marcial Oquendo told the news agency that the child’s father – who was not identified – believed that it was okay to vaccinate his son, as he was able to register and received a QR code.
“He was assuming that, ‘I send your information and he got an appointment,'” said Oquendo. “And when he got an appointment, he said, ‘We all have an appointment, so let’s go’.”
The father only realized that a mistake was made after talking to Oquendo.
“We don’t have the data, especially under 12, to say whether it works, whether it is safe, how much we should use, which child can get it and which not,” said Oquendo. “It needs to be in a controlled clinical trial environment, where we are monitoring all possible angles so that we can tell if it is safe and effective for use in children in this age group.”
Grand Prairie Fire Department chief Robert Fite confirmed to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth that the boy was one of about 3,800 people to be vaccinated at the site that day.
Fite said the department plans to track down the paramedic who administered the injection and find out more information about how the accident occurred.
“They are in the car, there is a code, the paramedic did what that paramedic did for thousands of others that day and went ahead and gave the vaccine, and did not realize it was a child under 18,” said Fite, according to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth.
Fite explained that if a person receives a QR code to get the vaccine, “part of our assumption is that they understand who should be registered and who should not,”
Fite said the vaccine site operates under the authority of Dallas County and is also seeking answers from county officials.
“We had some doubts about how a child under 18 could be registered,” he said. “If there was a failure in the system, we wouldn’t even have to worry because you were unable to register.”
Meanwhile, Oquendo said he had notified the Pediatric Society and the Dallas County Medical Society about the case, according to the news website.
“We are still trying to figure out what to do next,” he said. “We are trying to find out who needs to know what.”
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins told the media that “human error” allowed the boy to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“He was placed on the ineligible suspended list. There was a human error, and that list was moved to include people under 50 on the list of eligible people. They haven’t been able to scrub for people under the age of 18, ”said Jenkins.
Jenkins added: “We have our IT department working with the third party to make sure it doesn’t happen again, see if it can be fully automated.”
“We have more training for our doctors, so that they know if they see a person who does not appear to be old enough for this vaccine, that they understand that we do not give vaccine to anyone under the age of 16 under 18, whether it is Johnson & Johnson or Moderna ”Said Jenkins.
Both Pfizer and Moderna have started testing their COVID-19 vaccines on young children.
Pfizer said last month that its vaccine is 100% effective in children aged 12 to 15 years.