Kids got wrong doses of COVID vaccine, California hospital says. Parents are furious

A California health clinic gave 14 pediatric patients incorrect doses of a COVID-19 vaccine over the weekend, Sutter Health officials reported.

A clinic in Antioch gave out vaccines with incorrect doses of diluent, which is used to dilute the concentrated form of the vaccine, to 14 children ages 5-11, the health system said in a statement.

“The safety of our patients is our top priority, and we immediately reviewed our processes to help make sure this doesn’t happen again,” said pediatrician Dr. Jimmy Hu, chair of the Sutter Health COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force.

The clinic immediately notified parents and provided medical guidance, Hu said.

The children received twice as much vaccine as recommended for children ages 5-11 — about two-thirds of the vaccine dose someone age 12 or older would receive, Sutter Health said in the statement.

“They absolutely failed my children and the other 12 children involved,” parent Denise Iserloth told KGO. She said her two boys, ages 8 and 11, were home sick with stomach aches.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, incorrect vaccine doses can cause “more arm soreness, fatigue, headache, or a fever,” Sutter Health said.

Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco, told KNTV children were given higher vaccine doses in clinical trials and showed no ill effects.

In March, thousands of adults received lower COVID-19 vaccine doses than advised at a clinic at the Oakland Coliseum, KTVU reported.

State health officials said more than 110,000 Californians ages 5 to 11 received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine last week, KPIX reported.

The FDA authorized the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11 earlier this month.

This story was originally published November 16, 2021 at 11:28 AM with the headline "Kids got wrong doses of COVID vaccine, California hospital says. Parents are furious."