'I'm really tired and I feel so sorry for my child.'

As previously reported by Congluan.vn , on the morning of May 9th, the Thang Binh Commune Health Station (Nong Cong District) administered vaccinations at the station to 15 children of vaccination age in the area, including 6 children receiving the first dose of the 6-in-1 Hexaxim vaccine. After the vaccinations, the families discovered that the vaccine boxes they took home had expired.

Currently, children who received expired vaccines are in isolation at the Department of Internal Medicine - Allergy - Immunology - Musculoskeletal Disorders, Thanh Hoa Children's Hospital.

On the morning of May 12th, in an interview with a reporter from the Newspaper and Public Opinion , the four parents of the children who were mistakenly given expired 6-in-1 vaccines expressed their deep concern and outrage over the incident.

According to these families, after discovering that the vaccines their children had received had expired, they called the health station staff to report the issue, but the local health officials said that only expired medication had been administered and there was no problem.

"But my child is becoming increasingly lethargic and can't be monitored here any longer. I suggest that the station chief transfer my child to a higher-level facility," said one parent.

The family brought home the empty vaccine box.

Other families whose children received expired vaccines also stated that no staff member from the Thang Binh Health Station informed them about the situation. They received the information from other families, so they brought their children back to the station and requested to be referred to a higher-level facility.

Earlier, on the morning of May 9th, the Thang Binh Commune Health Station (Nong Cong District) organized a vaccination service at the health station, administering Hexaxim and Synflorix vaccines to 15 children within the eligible age range in the area, including 6 children receiving the first dose of the 6-in-1 Hexaxim vaccine.

After vaccination, children were monitored as per regulations, and the Thang Binh Commune Health Station provided the empty vaccine vials to families for monitoring. At 10:06 AM on the same day, the Thang Binh Commune Health Station received feedback from the family of a child who received the Hexaxim vaccine regarding the expiration date of March 31, 2023, printed on the vaccine vial box provided to the family.

Baby PNMD (2 months old) on her first day of hospitalization.

Dr. Phan Van Chuong, Head of the Thang Binh Commune Health Station, acknowledged that the aforementioned error was due to negligence on the part of the vaccination staff who did not follow the correct safe vaccination procedures and failed to carefully check and compare the expiration dates on the medicine boxes and vaccine vials. The leaders and staff of the Thang Binh Commune Health Station have directly apologized to the families of the children and will support them in monitoring the children's health.

According to Mr. Tran Anh Nam, Director of the Nong Cong District Health Center, after the incident, the unit conducted a review and confirmed that the 4 vials of Hexaxim 6-in-1 vaccine administered to children on May 9th at the Thang Binh Health Station were the last vials of the batch of vaccines imported by the Nong Cong District Health Center on May 23rd, 2022, totaling 165 doses.

The incident stemmed from improper procedures in receiving and storing vaccines at the Thang Binh Commune Health Station in Nong Cong District. Specifically, expired vaccines were mixed with valid vaccines. Before administering the injections, the health workers failed to follow regulations. In principle, they should have checked the drug name, expiration date, and route of administration. Due to negligence, the staff made this mistake.

"We are currently considering suspending the two officials from their duties. Once a suspension decision is made, we will provide specific information," said Mr. Tran Anh Nam, Director of the Nong Cong District Health Center.

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Regarding the above incident, on May 11th, the Department of Preventive Medicine (Ministry of Health) sent Official Dispatch No. 510/CĐ-DP to the Director of the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and the Director of the Department of Health of Thanh Hoa province, requesting an investigation, a meeting of the Professional Advisory Council; a review and clarification of responsibilities for units and individuals who violated the regulations, and serious rectification of the implementation of vaccination procedures.

Ha Anh

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/chung-toi-thuc-su-met-moi-va-thuong-con-rat-nhieu-post247405.html