Childhood vaccine mix-ups — a far more common danger than we’ve ever been lead to believe
Officials are calling it the most shocking “medication dispensing” error they can ever remember.
Five New Jersey children — trying to get their vaccines under a mandatory state program — were all given the wrong shots.
One of them is a two-year-old who may be in for the fight of his life after being accidentally injected with the dangerous HPV vaccine Gardasil.
It’s the kind of medical mishap that would give any parent nightmares. And it may be a far more common danger than we’ve ever been lead to believe.
But it may be happening more frequently than we’d like to imagine.
A few years back, a British doctor was found to have given 221 kids massive doses of the wrong vaccines. Another doctor was fired after accidentally giving a 23-month-old a rubella vaccine and then trying to falsify the child’s medical records to cover up the mistake.
And now health officials from Salem County, NJ are admitting that at least five kids got vaccinations that should never have been injected into their young bodies.
“It’s sad and disturbing when something like this takes place,” said Julie Acton, who runs the county board.
The five kids got their vaccines through a program called Shots for Tots that serves children who are usually trying to get their school vaccines under New Jersey’s mandatory vaccine program.
Two of the victims got expired shots. One got a flu vaccine he was far too young for. And officials are admitting they don’t even know which vaccines they gave two of the kids.
But perhaps worst of all, a two-year-old was given an adult-sized dose of the HPV vaccine Gardasil that’s been linked to 31,000 adverse events and scores of deaths.
County officials said that they don’t know what the negative health effects of that Gardasil vaccine may be on the boy, but he’ll be monitored for neurological damage — a common side effect of Gardasil.
But we know that when young children are given Gardasil, the damage can be even more serious. Years ago a healthy New Zealand boy who was just six weeks old was also given an accidental dose of Gardasil.
He eventually developed a rare and difficult to treat form of leukemia called M7 and died soon after his third birthday. Doctors say the leukemia developed in an abnormal way they can’t quite explain, and his parents are certain that Gardasil was the culprit.
Mary Elizabeth Williams, a New York mom, also had her under-aged daughter mistakenly injected with Gardasil when she was supposed to get a meningitis vaccine.
“The nurse saw a preteen female in the chair, reached for the HPV vaccine Gardasil and injected her,” Williams wrote.
It’s bad enough that countless children are being coaxed by doctors — and sometimes forced by our government — to line up for vaccines. And millions more kids are going to be required to get shots under mandatory vaccine laws being passed in states like California.
But then these same kids are at risk for medical errors that could threaten their health and even endanger their lives.
It’s just another reminder that vaccination has far more risks than the mainstream ever admits. And we need to be vigilant not just about which vaccines we choose for our kids, but about making sure they’re actually getting the right shots.
Sources:
“Children got wrong immunizations, including cervical cancer vaccine, at Salem County clinic, officials say” Bill Gallo Jr., July 4, 2015, NJ.com
“Wrong jab then baby gets sick” April 17, 2011, Stuff.co.nz
