According to new reports, a pharmacist gave a 4 year old the COVID-19 vaccine by mistake. As you might know, the reason why this is newsworthy is the fact that the FDA is yet to approve it for any minors under the age of 12!
The error took place earlier this month at a Walgreens in Baltimore, Maryland, and the pharmacist was supposed to give the little girl the flu shot instead!
Thankfully, the Baltimore Sun reported that 4 year old Colette Oliver has not suffered any side effects as a result of the mix-up and Walgreens has stated that the case has been reviewed for safety checks following the incident.
Speaking of COVID-19 vaccines and their safety for kids under the age of 12, Pfizer and BioNTech have submitted the results of a clinical study into the shot being used on children between the ages of 5 and 11.
The study was released via the Food and Drug Administration just yesterday and involved 2,268 participants.
The results concluded that using a smaller dose of the same formula is, in fact, safe and helps avoid the otherwise minor side-effects in children such as fever and arm soreness.
As for the story of Colette Oliver, the little girl was apparently taken by her mom named Victoria to a Baltimore Walgreens with the intention of getting her the flu shot.
Instead, the pharmacist gave the child an adult dose of the Pfizer vaccine by accident.
Furthermore, a spokesperson for Walgreens named Phil Caruso stated that they have apologized to the Oliver family directly, ensuring the public that patient safety is the main priority of their company.
“Events like this are extremely rare and we take this matter very seriously,’ Caruso told Fox News, adding that “We are in touch with the patient’s family and we have apologized. Our multi-step vaccination procedure includes several safety checks to minimize the chance of human error.”
In order to avoid another such instance in the future, Caruso also told the network that the whole process had been reviewed.
The little girl’s family does not plan to ask local regulators for an investigation since the child has suffered no side effects.
