Boy with rare brain condition was given overdose Covid jab

A 10-year-old boy with a rare brain condition was among four Lanarkshire youngsters given Covid vaccine overdoses.

It is believed the clinically vulnerable youngsters, aged between five and 11, received doses of more than twice the approved amount.

The mum of the local youngster told how his arm became sore almost immediately after he received his jab at the Ally Mccoist Centre in East Kilbride.

Hours later, he developed stomach pains, diarrhoea and a splitting headache.

During the night, his mum saw a vein in the boy’s neck pulsing and he was still suffering sideeffects almost a week later.

She received a call from a senior doctor with NHS Lanarkshire who told her: “There has been an error but I think he is going to be OK.”

He said instead of being given 10 micrograms of vaccine mixed with saline solution, her son had received 25.7mg.

The medic told the mum it was “highly unlikely” this would lead to any problems but gave her his mobile number and said if her son developed severe symptoms to take him to hospital.

The youngster has a rare condition called chiari malformation, where the lower part of the brain pushes down into the spinal canal. He has already had two brain operations and may need a third.

His mum said: “A doctor told me adult and child doses are kept in the same fridge and are not colour coded. It’s not surprising a mistake was made.

“Check the dose your child is being given.”

East Kilbride MSP Collette Stevenson has reached out to the family. She said: “I am glad the issue was quickly identified, and the parents informed of what had happened.

“Mistakes like these are extremely rare and I am pleased to see processes have been reviewed to reduce the chances of this happening again.

“I’m happy to discuss this further with those affected if they wish to get in touch with my office.”

Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie has called for an urgent inquiry.

She said: “Kids getting adult doses is pretty serious, especially when it is not a one-off.

“We don’t know the implications and there needs to be proper monitoring of these children. They can’t be left to cope with quite severe side effects on their own.

“There also needs to be an urgent inquiry.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We’re aware a small number of children received a higher than recommended dose of the Pfizer vaccine instead of the paediatric formula.

“NHS Lanarkshire has assured us the error was quickly identified, reported and actions were put in place to ensure the affected parents were fully informed of what had happened.

“NHS Lanarkshire has apologised to the affected young people and their families for any worry caused by this error.

“It has undertaken the monitoring required when someone is given more than the recommended dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.”

North Lanarkshire health and social care associate medical director Dr Mark Russell said: “We would like to apologise to the child and the three other children who received a dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine larger than would normally be given for their age.

“I contacted the families as soon as we discovered what had happened to offer advice and support, and have monitored them since.

“We’ve reviewed processes at vaccination centres and are sharing the learning across health boards to reduce the risk of this happening again.”