BAGAN SERAI – The Health Ministry is looking into a claim that a staff had mistakenly administered a different vaccine to an individual at their second dose appointment in Sik, Kedah on Thursday.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali said no report was lodged, and the ministry was waiting for updates from the Kedah Health Department.
“I heard about it from the media and I believe an investigation is underway. We need to look into this because staff must be careful when administering vaccine doses, check vials and show the vaccine type to be administered to the recipient, we cannot afford mistakes,” he told reporters when met at the Dewan Datuk Zainal Abidin Zin Covid-19 vaccination centre (PPV) in Bagan Serai here today.
He said this in reference to a claim by a woman that her mother was given the wrong vaccine when she showed up for her second dose at the Dewan Al-Hana PPV in Sik last Thursday.
The woman, Nur Jannah Ramli, 30, reportedly said her mother Melur Ahmad, 58, from Kg Selamat B, was given the Sinovac vaccine for her second shot when she had received the Pfizer vaccine for her first shot.
Dr Noor Azmi said while he appreciates and understands the pressure faced by health workers who have to vaccinate hundreds of people, but said that they must be careful while carrying out their duties.
According to him, mixing of the Pfizer and Astrazeneca vaccines has been implemented in the United Kingdom and it was reported to have no adverse effects based on studies.
“We have not adopted this approach of mixing different kinds of Covid-19 vaccines in the country but we are now studying if we should consider a third dose,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Noor Azmi also donated an oxygen cylinder to 9-year-old neurological disorder patient, Nor Qaseh Raudah Abdul Rahim, who has been dependent on oxygen delivery since birth, due to brain damage caused by insufficient oxygenated blood flow. – Bernama, August 8, 2021
