Ontario children get wrong vaccine dosage

[Tonka]

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Ontario+children+given+wrong+H1N1+vaccine+dosage/2198882/story.html

Ontario children get wrong vaccine dosage
11 Brampton youngsters given adult dose

Canwest News Service November 8, 2009 7:53 am

Peel Region Public Health is investigating after 11 children were given the adult dosage of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine.

Children are supposed to be given a 0.25 millilitre dose, but the children got the adult dose -- 0.50 ml.

Ted Hedrich's daughter, Selena, was one of those who got the higher dosage.

The Brampton man said it made his daughter, 3, ill, with diarrhea and sore throat.

"I lost it, I did. I couldn't believe it," he said after the board notified him of the mixup.

In a written statement, Peel Public Health said clinical trials showed no significant side-effects for children at the higher level, but that it will ensure the mistake is not repeated.

The health board for communities west of Toronto blames the mistake on human error and says the nurse who administered the shot has been spoken to.

Meanwhile, a Windsor, Ont., area health unit is investigating after players and staff of an Ontario Hockey Association team were inoculated against the H1N1 virus, even though some team members may not have been classified as high risk.

LaSalle Vipers hockey team spokeswoman Gail Robertson said management went ahead with the vaccinations in consultation with team medical advisers, because one of the players contracted the flu in October.

That didn't go down well with the director of health protection for the area, who said Saturday they will be speaking to the physician responsible.

"Everybody is aware of what the criteria are. I'm a little taken aback," said Deb Bennett.

It's part of what appears to be growing tension over some people getting access to flu shots ahead of targeted priority groups, such as pregnant women and young children.

But the team is not the first to provoke a backlash after receiving flu shots ahead of members of the public who are supposed to receive priority.

Alberta's health authority has fired two people after Calgary Flames players and their families were given the H1N1 vaccine. The team's British Columbia-based farm team also got shots.

? Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

[Pathfinder]

Re: Ontario children get wrong vaccine dosage

11 children in Brampton get double dose of H1N1 flu shot
By Pat Hewitt (CP) ? 1 hour ago
</FORM>
TORONTO ? A Brampton, Ont., man is questioning why the nurse who gave his young daughter and almost a dozen other children a double dose of the H1N1 flu vaccine is still giving out the swine flu shot.

It's just the latest problem to surface in Ontario's bumpy rollout of the vaccine.

That rollout has included vaccine shortages, days-long lineups for at public clinics and board members at about a dozen Toronto hospitals and several players and staff from the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs and the NBA's Toronto Raptors being allowed to jump the queue in getting their flu shots ahead of the general public.

Ted Hedrich said in an interview from his home in Brampton on Sunday that he was told that his three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Selena, was one of 11 children who were given the higher dose by a nurse working at the Indell Lane clinic last Monday afternoon.

But he wasn't called by a Peel Public Health supervisor until Thursday when he was told of the error, he said.
Hedrich said he was told the nurse now has been retrained on the proper procedure.

"I was absolutely shocked," he said, that the nurse was still giving flu shots.

He said he thinks the nurse should lose her licence, noting someone who accidentally shoots someone with a gun would likely go to jail.

A second Peel Public Health supervisor called him Friday to express sympathy and ask how his daughter was doing, but didn't give him a formal apology, he said.

He took Selena to their family physician Friday and was told to take his daughter for X-rays because she had a "slight rasp" in her chest, he said, adding she hasn't felt well since getting the vaccine.

"She's got the sore throat, runny nose, dysentery. There's been no fever and no aches and pains, which we're just praying that none of those pop up," he said.

However Peel Public Health officials and the family doctor wouldn't say if the symptoms were related to the flu shot, he said.

Hedrich said he regrets allowing his daughter to get the flu shot, but at the time, he and his wife Lisa were swayed by news of the deaths last month of 13-year-old Toronto hockey player Evan Frustaglio and Vanetia Warner, a 10-year-old girl from Cornwall.

"We weren't sure if we were going to take my daughter in for the shot.

The two healthy kids dying kind of sealed it," he said.

He didn't want to take any chances, so his wife and daughter waited a couple of hours in line to get the inoculation. He said his wife got her flu shot first, then his daughter.

Health officials have recommended young children only get half the adult dose initially - which would be 0.25 ml - and then get the other half several weeks later.

Hedrich, who is a project engineer manager, said he won't be getting a flu shot when the vaccine is available to the general public.

He said he has sent emails to people he knows, advising them to be cautious when getting a needle, and check the dose themselves.

"Do not take for granted that just because somebody says they are a nurse or whatever, they're going to give you a shot, you ask about their qualifications and then you demand to see that the shot is the proper dose," he said.

Unfortunately a lot of people put medical personnel on a pedestal, he said.

His family has been calling him to check that his daughter is all right and his neighbours have provided support. Even his pharmacist has called him to check on Selena, he said.

Hedrich remains worried about what long-term effect the double dose of vaccine could have on his daughter.

He said he has consulted with his lawyer, but would not elaborate on whether he is considering any legal action.

Peel Region's associate medical officer of health, Dr. Kathleen Dooling, said in a statement there are no significant ill effects found for children at that dosage level.

Peel Region is investigating how the error occurred and taking steps to ensure it is not repeated, she said.

Ontario is expected to get 770,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine this week for those considered at high risk, but it's still unclear when it will arrive, Dr. Arlene King, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, said Friday.

There's still no firm date on when it will be available to the general public.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jDk7y37wfRs08WtRDyrhd_BzoBRQ

[Pathfinder]

Re: Ontario children get wrong vaccine dosage

Parents outraged, but expert says don't worry about H1N1 double doses for kids

By: Pat Hewitt, THE CANADIAN PRESS
10/11/2009 10:10 PM |

<!--endclickprintexclude-->TORONTO - Families in several provinces were expressing outrage and concern Tuesday after they said their children got double the recommended dose of the H1N1 vaccine, but at least one medical expert said there's little need for concern.

Parents in Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia have reported that their children received the amount in the adult dose instead of the pediatric dose of the swine flu shot.
<!-- End Related Items -->
The Public Health Agency of Canada has received reports of the wrong dose being given out to children but cannot provide exact figures, said spokeswoman Nadia Mostafa, who referred the question to provincial health ministries.

The agency's guidelines call for adults to receive 0.5 ml in a single shot of the adjuvanted vaccine. The recommendation for children between six months of age to nine years is two half doses at least three weeks apart.

A stressed-out father in Delta, B.C., urged parents to check the dose themselves before their children get the shot. Jeevan Tauro said his three-year-old daughter and 17-month-old son were given the 0.5 ml dose at a Burnaby walk-in clinic Nov. 3.

In a telephone interview from his home Tuesday, Tauro said he asked the doctor if they should return to the clinic three weeks later to get the second half of the flu shot, but the doctor told him not to.

The doctor said there was only one shot and no subsequent vaccination, "so that raised my doubts (as to) what he had actually done," said Tauro.

The receptionist told him his children had received the full adult dose, he said.

Tauro said his son Ruhin developed a fever the next day, and suffered a seizure four days later and was rushed to hospital. He said a pediatrician told him two days later that Ruhin's high fever was related to the flu shot and that the fever had caused the seizure.

He was told to give his son Tylenol and the boy is doing better now, he said.

Fraser Health Authority spokeswoman Joan Marshall said "our medical health officer has followed up with the family and is also following up with the doctor."

Information about the H1N1 vaccine has been provided to all Fraser Health physicians through regular medical health officer updates, Marshall said.

However Tauro said Tuesday night he had not heard from Fraser Health officials.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says on its website that reactions to the vaccine were higher in clinical trials for children who received a full dose as compared to those who received two half-doses.

The agency says the majority of adverse events are minor reactions, such as soreness at the injection site or a slight fever. However, it does state that sometimes more serious events are reported - including seizures in rare cases.

It says the average reported rate of serious adverse events is about one case for every 100,000 doses distributed.

Dr. David Scheifele, director of the UBC Vaccine Evaluation Centre at B.C.'s Children's Hospital, said dosing errors happen all the time with seasonal flu vaccine and parents shouldn't worry.

"Giving a young kid the adult dose may increase the mild side-effect rate slightly. The leg will be a bit sorer, the kid a little crankier. And maybe the risk for fever is increased," he said.

"But the rate of high fever sufficient to trigger febrile convulsions has been extremely low with this vaccine."

If someone has the flu or is exposed within a couple of days of getting the vaccine, the flu shot won't prevent them from getting sick, he added.

In Ontario, Peel Public Health said 11 children in Brampton received the full swine flu dose on Nov 2.

Claudine Kneer said her two boys, ages eight and six, received the full dose at a public clinic in Espanola in northern Ontario, just west of Sudbury.

Kneer said her six-year-old got his flu shot first.

"There was a lot of confusion and chaos in the moments after we mentioned that we think he had gotten the wrong amount," she said in an email interview.

"A different nurse, going on what the misinformed nurse thought should be administered, then hastily gave my older son a second dose of vaccine.

"In the end, they both got a full dose."
Kneer said her family is outraged at the mistake and "praying our boys are going to be OK."

Last month, a Winnipeg woman said her five-year-old son had received a higher dose.

Chief medical officers of health in Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia said they had not heard about dosing problems in their provinces.

-With files from Canadian Press medical reporter Helen Branswell

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wxxi/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1577023/WXXI.Local.Stories/Ontario.County.Medical.Society.Weighs.in.on.H1N1.Deaths

[BimmerDom]

Re: Ontario children get wrong vaccine dosage

My 7 Year old got the wrong dose this morning in Ottawa. He got the full adult dose.

For the great training


All I got is a and a don't worry

[Tonka]

Re: Ontario children get wrong vaccine dosage

Thank you for the information BimmerDom. I'm glad your child is ok.
Welcome to FT!