THE HEALTH Service Executive has said a number of people given the flu vaccine at pharmacies may have received too low a dose.
The HSE said last night that the National Immunisation Advisory Committee had advised them that the vaccination administered to some patients was less than the recommended dosage.
While there are no safety issues for patients who have received the inadequate dose, the executive urged those patients who are inadequately vaccinated to be revaccinated as soon as possible.
The problem arose from a training programme for pharmacists in which there was confusion as to the amount of the vaccine to be administered. As a result some adults got a children’s dose.
While the HSE has yet to confirm the number of people affected, president of the Irish Pharmacy Union Darragh O’Loughlin has put the figure at “up to 485 patients”.
Advising patients who are worried that they have not received the correct dosage to contact their pharmacist, the executive said it believes that pharmacies would also be proactively making contact with those affected.
Meanwhile Hibernian Healthcare, the company tasked with training pharmacists to deliver the vaccination has confirmed that the issue arose from an error in its training programme.
The company said, “as a result of an error in the training programme, it has emerged that some pharmacists may have inadvertently administered a paediatric vaccination dose to adult patients.”
Hibernian Healthcare said that it has now issued the correct dosage information to pharmacists who attended its training programme.
“We are currently contacting them individually to ascertain how many patients may have received the small dose. We deeply regret any concern this causes for pharmacists and patients,” the company said.
With the first cases of influenza notified to them this week, the HSE said it was important that vulnerable patients be revaccinated in order to be protected from the flu.
Incorrect dose: Flu jab must be given again to 500 people
THE REVELATION that incorrect doses of influenza vaccine have been administered to about 500 people by pharmacists throughout the State may worry some recipients.
Luckily, the dose was too small and should not directly cause any side-effects. Had the situation been reversed – with adult doses given to children – there would be more cause for concern.
Almost 500 people will be inconvenienced by the error and must return to be revaccinated. They are at the same risk of local pain and inflammation as they would have been when given the initial shot. And the low risk of developing a flu-like illness from influenza vaccination remains.
A company called Hibernian Healthcare was contracted to provide training to pharmacists, most of whom would not routinely receive training in administering injections to patients, so a pharmacist-led alternative to GP vaccination could be put in place.
The policy change was to an extent rushed. Some observers noted the process appeared to be driven by a need to quickly cut costs. Those who accredited the programme – the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland and the school of pharmacy at Trinity College Dublin – must invite an agency such as the Health Information and Quality Authority to formally review the approval process. - Dr MUIRIS HOUSTON
