Manitoba Health says mother and three-year-old given COVID-19 vaccine by mistake
Manitoba Health says a mother and her three-year-old were each mistakenly given an adult dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine instead of a flu shot.
The department says in a statement that the error happened Nov. 24 in Brandon, which is located in the Prairie Mountain Health region in western Manitoba.
Manitoba Health says the mother was told what happened after the fact and was given information about the risks, which it adds are low.
The department could not confirm if it was the first time someone was given a COVID-19 vaccine by mistake but did say medication errors do occur, although rarely.
The statement adds that the person who immunized the mother and daughter recognized and reported the error to a supervisor and no further action will be taken against that person.
Manitoba Health says staff from the health region have reached out to the family to discuss what happened as well as to provide an update on an investigation into the error.
"Patient safety is a critical aspect of all health-care services in Manitoba. We are constantly reviewing our processes to ensure that our systems support our staff in preventing errors," the department said in the statement Friday.
"In this case ... our team reviewed the existing processes to make adjustments that would help avoid a similar error from occurring in the future."
A representative for Prairie Mountain Health referred all questions to Manitoba Health.
Health Canada said it is not in charge of immunization monitoring and could not comment on whether the error has occurred in other parts of the country.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.
Djokovic needs medical attention after getting knocked on the head by a water bottle at Italian Open
Novak Djokovic needed medical attention after apparently getting knocked on the head by a water bottle after a win at the Italian Open on Friday.