Police in Germany are investigating after at least three children under 12 were “incorrectly” given the Moderna vaccine at a Covid-19 vaccination center. Parents have reportedly sought assault charges against a staffer.
The incident occurred on Sunday at a center in the town of Attendorn in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The children who received the Moderna shot apparently exhibited no ill effects after they left the vaccination center. The incident was reported to the police at the parents’ request.
The investigation is currently focusing on the medical assistant who carried out the vaccination, a police spokeswoman told the dpa news agency on Monday. The agency reported that the public prosecutor’s office will examine the case to see “whether there has been bodily harm or not.”
According to the district administration, it was not yet clear if the staff member was the only one at the center to have injected children with the wrong shot or if other employees had done the same. It was also not known whether the children administered the incorrect vaccine were given an adult dose.
The authorities noted that around 365 children had been vaccinated in general against Covid in the town, with parents being told to monitor them for any adverse effects.
In a statement issued on Sunday, district authorities claimed the staff member – described as a “vaccination specialist” – had noticed the error herself and “immediately informed” the parents. However, the parents of two wrongly dosed children told the Siegener Zeitung news outlet that they informed the police after discovering the mistake based on the entry in the vaccination card.
Officials at the center had also tried to allay the parents’ fears about side effects by reasoning that the European Medicines Agency, the EU’s drug regulator, is considering approving Moderna shots to be given to children. However, only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been greenlighted by the agency for children aged between five and 11 in the bloc so far.
The unidentified staff member has reportedly been removed from the vaccination center, which cited the “individual failure of the specialist staff.” It will now take a closer look at its protocols and processes relating to child vaccination.