En Chu Kong Hospital in New Taipei has been ordered to stop administering COVID-19 vaccines after its staff was found to have mistakenly given undiluted Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT) vaccine doses to 25 people, according to the city’s Department of Health.
The undiluted BNT vaccine doses, administered to 25 people at a vaccination site at a temple in Yingge District on Monday, were the result of medical negligence, the health department said Tuesday, citing a report it received.
The department said it immediately directed the hospital to arrange testing for the 25 vaccine recipients and admit those who were willing to the hospital for observation.
It also ordered the hospital to stop administrating COVID-19 vaccines for one week as punishment and asked it to make improvements, the department said.
The hospital on Tuesday offered a public apology for any potential health risks caused by the misstep.
Wang Chung-cheng (王炯珵), vice superintendent of the hospital, said at a press conference that hospital workers at the site mistakenly thought the vaccine had already been diluted because the caps had fallen off the vials.
Of the 25 recipients — 11 men and 14 women aged between 18 to 65 years old — 20 had been tested at the hospital as of 11 a.m. when the press conference was held.
Nine agreed to check into the hospital for monitoring for three days, while five others reported no symptoms, according to Wang.
Five of the 25 vaccinated people were aged 18-20, while the others were between 40 and 65 years old.
Three of the five young people have been admitted to the hospital, and the hospital is in contact with the two others, according to Wu Chih-hsiung (吳志雄), superintendent of the hospital.
Wu said that giving a dose higher than authorized to young people would put them at higher risk of health problems than the older groups.
The hospital has formed an emergency response panel to provide preventive care services for the 25 vaccine recipients, according to Wu.
A BNT vaccine vial contains 0.45 mL of concentrate vaccine, which requires further dilution using 1.8 mL of preservative-free 0.9 percent sodium chloride injection.
After dilution, each vial turns into six vaccine doses, according to Wu, meaning that the 25 vials of undiluted vaccine should have become 150 doses given to 150 people.
Chinese Medical University Hospital deputy superintendent Hwang Kao-pin (黃高彬) suggested that the 25 people who received the additional dosage of the vaccine be admitted into the hospital to have their health monitored for at least one week.
Those who received the highly concentrated dose should be on the alert for signs and symptoms of myocarditis, an inflammatory disease of the heart, about three to five days after receiving their jabs, Hwang said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel