Toddlers given wrong vaccine

Toddlers given wrong vaccine

JAKARTA (JP): The anti-polio drive (PIN) in Riau got off to a
blunderous start as 224 toddlers in Tangkerang Timur subdistrict
were mistakenly given the wrong vaccine.

Health officials here admitted to Tuesday's mixup saying that
tetanus toxoid vaccines were dropped into the toddlers' mouths
instead of polio vaccines.

The tetanus vaccines were originally intended for mothers.

But health officials were quick to deny that any negative side
effects would occur.

"There won't be any negative effects as a result of the
incident," head of PIN's central committee, Dr. Broto Wasisto,
told The Jakarta Post here yesterday.

He said the small amount of tetanus vaccine given to the
toddlers would pass through the digestive system without any
harm.

"There isn't any problem with the toddlers now," he said,
adding that the committee had asked some pediatricians to assist
with the treatment.

Separately a pediatrician at Pondok Indah Hospital when asked
by the Post also said there should be no direct side effects as a
result of the mistake and that the vaccine should not be
dangerous to the children.

However, he expressed amazement that such a mistake occurred
given that the type of bottles containing the vaccines were very
different.

He pointed out that the polio vaccine's bottle included a
dropper since it had to be administered orally while the tetanus
vaccine did not because it was meant to be injected.

Secretary-general of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Hidayat
Hardjoprawito, explained that the mistake was due to the
"carelessness" of volunteers at the immunization post.

He said an investigation was currently underway.

Legislator Oelfah AS Harmanto expressed horror saying she
deeply regretted the incident.

The Golkar legislator, who is deputy chairperson of House
Commission VIII for social welfare, said the government along
with the community should pay more attention to avoid similar
mistakes.

Tuesday was the start of a national two-phase anti-polio
campaign aimed at immunizing 21.9 million toddlers aged under
five years old.

It is the third and final round of free polio vaccinations
with the ultimate objective of making Indonesia polio-free by
2000.

Along with the polio vaccinations, women between 19 and 39
years old will be given tetanus vaccinations.

The second phase of the campaign will start Oct. 7. (09)