Update 4 Feb 2022: MOH conducting investigation of 103-year-old woman erroneously given 4th dose of COVID-19 vaccine
The Ministry of Health (MOH) is conducting a "thorough investigation" of a 103-year-old woman who was erroneously given fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine, it said on Friday (Feb 4). The woman, a resident at ECON Healthcare – Chai Chee Nursing Home, was given the fourth dose by a mobile vaccination team from PanCare Medical Clinic in December. She died the following month.
“The resident had previously received three doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and was erroneously given a fourth shot on Dec 13, 2021,” MOH said. “On Dec 16, 2021, the resident was admitted to Changi General Hospital for pneumonia and hyponatremia, and subsequently also diagnosed to have suffered a stroke.” She died on Jan 10.
“Her death was reported to the coroner, who ordered an autopsy to be conducted. The autopsy found that the main cause of death was pneumonia, with other contributing factors being cerebral infarction (or stroke) and coronary artery disease, which are natural disease processes common in seniors. “The coroner has not determined whether these causes of death were linked to the vaccination,” MOH said.
MOH investigating death of woman, 103, who was mistakenly given 4th COVID shot
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Friday (4 February) it is concluding its investigation on the death of a 103-year-old nursing home resident who was mistakenly given a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
The woman was a resident at ECON Healthcare – Chai Chee Nursing Home who was administered with the fourth dose by a mobile vaccination team from PanCare Medical Clinic. She had previously received three doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and was erroneously given a fourth shot on 13 December last year. On 16 December, she was admitted to Changi General Hospital for pneumonia and hyponatremia, and later diagnosed to have suffered a stroke. She died on 10 January, MOH said.
The Coroner ordered for an autopsy, which found that the main cause of death was pneumonia, with other contributing factors being stroke and coronary artery disease, which are natural disease processes common in seniors. “The Coroner has not determined whether these causes of death were linked to the vaccination,” MOH said. MOH is carrying out a thorough investigation and expects the investigations to conclude later this month.
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine 'erroneously' given to 16-year-old boy in Singapore
A first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine was erroneously administered to a 16-year-old boy on Thursday (Jun 3) at Kolam Ayer Community Club vaccination centre, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ministry of Education (MOE).
The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is currently authorised for use in Singapore for people aged 18 and above. The vaccination centre at Kolam Ayer Community Club is run by Minmed.
"Our investigations found that the individual’s date of birth had been erroneously entered when booking a vaccination appointment after receiving the sign-up link," the ministries said in a joint press release early Thursday morning. "This resulted in his age being incorrectly registered as above 18 years of age, making it possible for a Moderna vaccination centre to be selected.
Boy, 16, wrongly given Moderna Covid-19 vaccine not authorised for those under 18 in S'pore
A 16-year-old boy was wrongly given the first dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday (June 3), but he is not expected to suffer any safety issues.
The mistake was discovered at Kolam Ayer Community Club vaccination centre when its staff identified that the boy was under 18 years of age after he had been given the shot.
In a joint statement, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that vaccination centre staff should have checked his age during registration, and apologised for the inconvenience and anxiety caused.
Migrant worker who tested positive for COVID-19 completed vaccination
The sole dormitory case in Singapore on Sunday (Apr 11) had completed the full COVID-19 vaccination regimen and the case is a reminder that "it is possible for vaccinated individuals to get infected", said MOH.
The man, who is asymptomatic, was detected when he was tested on Apr 7 as part of rostered routine testing. The man's pooled rostered routine testing result came back positive for COVID-19 on Apr 8 and he was immediately isolated, said MOH. An individual test was done on Apr 9 and it came back positive the following day. He was taken to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases by ambulance. "His serology test result has come back positive but we have assessed that this is likely a current infection," said MOH.
The man received his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on Jan 25 and the second dose on Feb 17.
S'pore National Eye Centre issues apology after staff mistakenly given 5 doses of Covid-19 vaccine
The Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) has apologised after a staff member was mistakenly administered five doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, both CNA and The Straits Times reported. The error had occurred on Jan. 14, during a vaccination exercise at the eye centre for SNEC staff, according to the centre.
It had been the result of human error arising from a "lapse in communication among the vaccination team," SNEC elaborated.
A staff member of the vaccination team, who was in charge of diluting the vaccine, had been called away to attend to other matters while preparing the vaccine. A second staff member then mistook the undiluted dose in the vial as ready for administration, SNEC added.
Ho Ching appears to defend SNEC mistake while Lawrence Wong and Gan Kim Yong remain silent
In the wake of reports over the weekend that the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) has given a member of staff the equivalent to 5 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine due to human error, it is notable that none of the senior members of Government has addressed this mistake publicly.
In addition, the error was apparently made on 14 Jan which begs the question of why it took so long for the public to be informed? To make matters, worse, it seems like the wife of our Prime Minister, Madam Ho Ching (Madam Ho) has attempted to defend such mistakes on her Facebook page.
Among other things, Madam Ho has said “When you have mass exercises like vaccination, it is easy to make mistakes. We are human after all.” While mistakes are understandable and sometimes unavoidable, it seems completely tone-deaf to dismiss this error when the various relevant ministers have not even spoken up on the issue.
HO Ching 7 Feb at 10:34
When you have mass exercises like vaccination, it is easy to make mistakes.
We are human after all.
Hence, it is important to have protocols in place which help to reduce the inevitable human errors.
Singapore National Eye Centre staff received 5 doses of COVID-19 vaccine due to human error
A general view of the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC). (Photo: Google Street View)
An employee at the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) was wrongly administered the equivalent of five doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine due to a human error, the public healthcare institution said on Saturday (Feb 6).
The error happened on Jan 14 during a vaccination exercise conducted at SNEC for its staff members. “The error was discovered within minutes of the vaccination when the staff was resting in a designated area after vaccination,” said SNEC in a press release.
“Senior doctors were alerted immediately and the staff was assessed and found to be well, with no adverse reaction or side effects.”
Eye centre employee given 5 doses of vaccine by mistake
A staff member at the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) has been mistakenly given the equivalent of five doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
This occurred during a vaccination exercise on Jan 14, and was due to human error resulting from a lapse in communication among members of the vaccination team, said SNEC on Saturday (Feb 6). It said it has been following up closely with the staff member, who remains well.
SNEC said the worker in charge of diluting the vaccine had been called away to attend to other matters before it was done.
Singapore Health Worker Administered 5 Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine by Mistake
A staffer of the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) has received the equivalent of five doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine due to a human error, but suffered no side effects, media reported on Saturday.
According to The Straits Times, the incident occurred on January 14 during a vaccination exercise. A worker in charge of diluting the vaccine had been called away during the preparation of the vaccine, while a second staff member had mistaken the undiluted dose in the vial for the one ready for use. The error was discovered within minutes after the vaccination.
“Senior doctors were alerted immediately and the staff (member) was assessed and found to be well, with no adverse reaction or side effects,” SNEC said as quoted by the media outlet. The vaccine was monitored at a hospital and discharged two days later. The Centre continues to monitor the health of the employee, and currently, he feels well.
Singapore National Eye Centre worker accidentally given 5 doses of Covid-19 vaccine due to human error
A staff member at the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) has been erroneously administered the equivalent of five doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. This occurred during a vaccination exercise on Jan 14, said the SNEC on Saturday (Feb 6).
The error was discovered within minutes of the vaccination, when the staff member was resting in a designated area.
As a safety measure, the vaccination exercise at the SNEC was stopped immediately upon detection of the error. The rest of the SNEC staff were vaccinated at SGH. "Our investigations showed that it was human error resulting from a lapse in communication among the vaccination team, who had been preparing and administering the injections at that time," said the centre.
It said the worker in charge of diluting the vaccine had been called away to attend to other matters during the preparation of the vaccine. A second staff member had mistaken the undiluted dose in the vial to be ready for administering. The SNEC has apologised to the affected staff member and the worker's family, said Professor Wong Tien Yin, who is medical director of the centre.
Getting more than recommended dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine unlikely to be harmful: MOH
Receiving more than the recommended dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is unlikely to be harmful, said Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) on Saturday (Feb 6), citing clinical trial data from the two pharmaceutical companies.
This comes after an employee from the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) was wrongly administered the equivalent of five doses of the vaccine due to a human error.
The recommended schedule for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is two doses, 21 days apart.
“Clinical trial data from Pfizer-BioNTech has indicated that receiving more than the recommended dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is unlikely to be harmful,” said MOH in response to CNA’s queries. “The affected staff is well, and did not have any adverse reaction or side effects.”
Migrant worker in dormitory is first case of Covid-19 reinfection detected in S’pore
A 28-year-old Bangladeshi worker who resides in a dormitory has been detected as Singapore's first case of Covid-19 reinfection
Singapore has detected its first case of likely Covid-19 reinfection, a 28-year-old work permit holder who resides in a dormitory, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Saturday (Feb 6).
MOH said it had identified the reinfection in consultation with an expert panel after a rostered monitoring testing of recovered workers to monitor their post-infection immunity. The case, a Bangladeshi, resides at 43 Tech Park Crescent and had been confirmed to have Covid-19 on April 12 last year.
He subsequently recovered, and consistently tested negative for the coronavirus from June 2020 onwards.But on Jan 25 this year, his test result came back positive for Covid-19 infection, and he was isolated. Numerous repeat tests conducted subsequently were also positive for the virus.
What we know so far about COVID-19 reinfection
A migrant worker undergoes a swab test in Singapore on Apr 28, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)
Over the weekend, the Ministry of Health (MOH) reported Singapore’s first likely case of reinfection, a Bangladeshi migrant worker who had tested positive for COVID-19 again after recovering from the disease last year. The 28-year-old work permit holder, who lives in a dormitory at 43 Tech Park Crescent, first tested positive on Apr 12 last year as part of the cluster of infections there.
He recovered and tested negative for COVID-19 but on Jan 25, the man was confirmed to have COVID-19 again after being detected through rostered routine testing. MOH said that the virus detected in his samples taken in January this year was "genetically distinct from that associated with the dormitories outbreak in 2020, suggesting that this is likely a different and new infection", adding that reinfection is "rare".
Singapore now joins a list of places that have reported cases of reinfection, with the first documented case involving a 33-year-old man in Hong Kong in August last year.
Coronavirus vaccine: your questions answered
Information for people with heart conditions:
- Is the vaccine safe for people with heart conditions?
- Is the vaccine safe for people taking blood thinners like warfarin and other anticoagulants?
- Is the vaccine safe for people taking blood thinners like clopidogrel and other antiplatelet drugs?
- Is the vaccine safe for people taking heart medications?
- I have a heart or circulatory condition - when will I get the vaccine?
- I am in the shielding group, how soon will I get the vaccine?
- Why are people with heart conditions not a higher priority?
Singapore approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
Coronavirus vaccine: in Singapore, 432 report side effects but experts ‘reassured
Health experts in Singapore say the relatively high rate of adverse effects from the initial Covid-19 vaccinations delivered by the island nation is not alarming, and is in fact reassuring.
Singapore has given more than 113,000 people the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, after which 432 suffered common side effects, including three people who had anaphylaxis, which is a rapid onset of severe allergic reactions. The data was released by the Ministry of Health on Thursday night as the country embarked on inoculating the general population, with those aged 70 and above getting their first shot on Wednesday. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is one of the 50 who has received their second shot of the vaccine.
The ministry said the three cases of anaphylaxis were “quickly resolved” by health care professionals, and had happened to individuals in their 20s and 30s who had a history of allergies, including allergic rhinitis and food allergies such as to shellfish. None had a history of anaphylaxis, which would have precluded them from the vaccine, and all have been discharged from hospital after a day’s observation or treatment. This puts Singapore’s incidence rate of anaphylaxis at about 2.7 per 100,000 doses administered, compared with other jurisdictions’ one to two per 100,000 doses administered. The ministry said initial variations in the incidence rate were expected given the numbers vaccinated in the island nation were relatively small.
Singapore reports deaths from COVID-19
18 Apr 2020: 95-yr-old S'porean dies, is 11th death
11 Apr 2020: 90-yr-old man becomes 8th death, 191 new cases
29 Mar 2020 Singapore reports third death from COVID-19
21 Mar 2020 Singapore reports first two coronavirus deaths
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