A nurse working for the Calvert County Health Department gave a student at Dowell Elementary School in Lusby, Maryland, a COVID 19 vaccine without consent from the student’s parents.
According to ABC 7News, the 6-year-old was mistaken for a different student who shared the same name. A medical mixup like this could have had perilous consequences, but, fortunately, the child is reportedly okay following this accidental vaccination.
This is not the only case of children being accidentally or incorrectly vaccinated. For example, in early November, 112 kids were given the wrong dose of the COVID vaccine in Loudoun Country, VA. Soon after, three kids in the same county received the wrong vaccine dose again!
“Going forward, in addition to speaking to the parent, we will have the parent speak directly to the child with the nurse listening on the speaker to absolutely be certain that the parent and child match,” Calvert County Health Officer Laurence Polsky wrote in a letter to Charles County Public School. “This may be done through video such as FaceTime or additional information will be obtained, such as a nickname that only the child’s parents would know.”
“For the first time in well over 15,000 vaccinations, a student who was not consented by their parents inadvertently received a vaccination. That student is doing well, and parents were immediately notified once the error was recognized,” Polsky wrote in part.
“I want to reassure you that all of our staff, including me, take any error extremely seriously and have already taken steps to best ensure that this never happens again. We clearly recognize the responsibility we have to your children and to you to deliver safe and appropriate care,” he continued.
“There is nothing more important to us than keeping the children of our county safe,” Dr. Polsky added. He said the nurses were visibly upset about the situation.
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