Overdose Followed by Cross-Vaccination Mistake... Citizens Anxious Over Consecutive 'Vaccine Misadministrations'

Over 400 Incorrect Vaccinations Since February When Domestic Vaccinations Began
Some Point to Medical Staff Fatigue as Cause
Experts Say "Fundamental Issue Is Lack of Properly Trained Personnel"

On the 21st, medical staff are administering COVID-19 vaccines at the vaccination center set up in the Health Healing Culture Center in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] It has been confirmed that in Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, 40 residents scheduled for their second dose were mistakenly administered the Moderna vaccine, which is not allowed for cross-vaccination. The city regards this misadministration as a medical staff error and stated that it will take measures to prevent recurrence, but some citizens are feeling anxious due to the consecutive incidents of vaccine misadministration.

Some point out that the accumulated fatigue of medical staff due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and the surge in related workload is one of the causes of the misadministration. Experts emphasize that the root cause of misadministration is a shortage of untrained personnel and that improving the medical environment is necessary to minimize errors.

According to Gangneung city health authorities on the 24th, on the morning of the 23rd, at a medical institution in Gangneung, 40 people scheduled for their second dose of AstraZeneca (AZ) were mistakenly given the Moderna vaccine. Currently, domestic guidelines do not allow cross-vaccination between AZ and Moderna vaccines due to insufficient clinical data.

All 40 residents had received the AZ vaccine for their first dose, and their second dose was also scheduled to be AZ, as indicated on their pre-vaccination forms.

The city and health authorities have identified the misadministration as a simple mistake by medical staff. The vaccination was administered by a newly hired employee at the medical institution. The error was noticed when another staff member saw that the Moderna vaccine, not the AZ vaccine, was being used.

Residents who received the wrong vaccine have not reported any significant adverse reactions so far. The city plans to monitor them for more than a week for any reactions and has announced it will strengthen management and supervision to prevent recurrence.

Medical staff receiving vaccination. / Photo by Yonhap News

There was another recent case of vaccine misadministration. On the 12th and 13th, at a medical institution in Cheongju, Chungbuk, it was confirmed that 10 residents were given 5 to 6 times the recommended dose of the Pfizer vaccine. This occurred because the Pfizer vaccine, which should be diluted with saline, was mistaken for the Moderna vaccine and administered undiluted. The investigation revealed that this misadministration was also due to a mistake by a newly hired nursing assistant.

As a result, some citizens are expressing anxiety. Kim, a worker in his 20s, said, "Everyone takes a risk of adverse reactions when getting vaccinated, so hearing about mistakes during the vaccination process recently makes anyone feel uneasy."

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team on the 23rd of last month, from the start of vaccinations on February 26 to July 16, out of approximately 21.47 million vaccinations, there were 426 cases of misadministration, accounting for 0.002%.

Among these, the most common error was incorrect dosage?either overdosing or underdosing?with 234 cases. This was followed by errors related to vaccine type (86 cases), timing errors (71 cases), recipient errors (34 cases), and one case of incorrect administration method. Including recent cases, the number of misadministrations is likely higher.

Fortunately, no serious health issues have been reported from these misadministrations so far, but since many citizens still have significant concerns about vaccination, there are calls for special caution to minimize such errors.

However, some argue that the prolonged COVID-19 situation and increased workload due to the rapid vaccination campaign have contributed to medical staff fatigue, which may have influenced the occurrence of misadministrations. Previously, the government expressed its intention to accelerate vaccination to complete the first dose for 70% of the population before the Chuseok holiday and finish the second dose by October to achieve herd immunity.

Experts stress the need to improve the medical environment to minimize misadministrations.

Professor Eom Jung-sik of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Gachon University Gil Medical Center said, "Because many people are vaccinated in a short period, mistakes occur, but fundamentally, the problem arises from a shortage of trained personnel. Misadministration is linked to the need to reduce the number of vaccinations per medical staff member and increase personnel, thereby improving the medical environment."

Professor Eom added, "In the case of vaccines, serious problems rarely occur due to misadministration. If the dose is too low, immune response may be reduced, but even if the dose is higher or the vaccine type changes, no major issues have been reported so far. However, misadministration should be minimized, and efforts are needed to improve working conditions that cause such incidents."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.