Two Garland children mistakenly received adult COVID-19 vaccine, city says

Two children mistakenly received an adult dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic run by the Garland Health Department during a Halloween event, the city said KXAS-TV (NBC 5).

The boys, aged 6 and 7, were with adult family members who were receiving booster shots, CNB 5 reported.

“I’m very angry, I’ll be honest,” Julian Gonzalez, the 6-year-old’s father, told the station. “All I can do for now is be balanced and hope he’s okay. “

Gonzalez told NBC 5 that one of the clinic workers said he has the vaccine for children.

“They even prepared a form that offered the option of choosing the vaccine for the child,” Gonzalez said. “It just seemed like everything was set and ready for this. “

But on Monday, Gonzalez’s wife received a call from a city official, who said the vaccine was given to her son by mistake.

Gonzalez told NBC 5 that the official declined to answer questions – commenting only that “the appropriate channels have been notified.”

“It doesn’t matter what, it doesn’t matter what answer we tried to get – how did it happen? How could it happen? – the only answer we got is: ‘The appropriate channels have been notified’, a Gonzalez told the station.

The Food and Drug Administration permitted child-sized doses of Pfizer vaccine for emergency use on Fridays for children 5 to 11 years of age. A committee of experts from The Centers for Disease Control is expected to discuss the vaccine on Tuesday.

Garland’s two children accidentally received the adult dose, which is three times that of the children.

Gonzalez told the station that his son’s arm still ached after receiving the vaccine. He said his son had other symptoms as well, including a mild fever, headache and low energy.

The vaccination form that Gonzalez was provided to register his son for the vaccine was still on the city’s website Monday evening, NBC 5 reported.

Saul Garza, a spokesperson for the city, told NBC 5 that Garland will withdraw the form and apologize to affected families. Garza also promised that the city would answer all questions.

The form was prepared in anticipation of the government’s final approval of children’s vaccines, Garza told NBC 5.

Dorothy White, another spokesperson for Garland, said The morning news from Dallas let the city investigate the incident. City officials are in contact with the parents of the children involved, White said.

“Due to patient privacy, we cannot share additional information at this time,” White said in a prepared statement.

Plano’s pediatrician, Dr Marcial Oquendo, told NBC 5 the kids will likely be fine. Still, Gonzalez has lingering concerns.

“I think there must be checks and balances. How did he get to this level? Gonzalez told the station. “We can get away with it, but what if it happens somewhere else and somebody doesn’t have the same luck?” “