A study published in Pediatrics found that at least 34 babies were accidentally given the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine.
One of the babies was hospitalized.
The RSV vaccines are designed for adults at least 60 years of age.
Data in the study was drawn from the CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), which revealed 27 instances of Pfizer’s RSV vaccine and 7 instances of GSK’s RSV vaccine being distributed to children under the age of 2 between Aug. 21, 2023 and March 18, 2024.
Dr. Pedro Moro told MedPage Today that vaccine “errors” are “known to occur.”
“While rare, vaccine administration errors are known to occur and may increase after a new vaccine or product is introduced,” he told the outlet in an email.
According to the study, “Healthcare facilities that provide preventive care for children and adults might store and administer Pfizer and GSK RSV vaccines, other routine vaccines, and nirsevimab [Beyfortus]. Thus, the potential exists for Pfizer or GSK RSV vaccines to be administered in error to infants and young children.”
Another doctor, Eric Simões, told MedPage Today that he was “not surprised” by the mistakes.
While he noted he did not personally know of any cases where the mistake occurred, he asserted that “adult RSV vaccines should absolutely not be given to children.”
During their RSV vaccine trial, Pfizer failed to inform pregnant women of possible risks.
Some of the risks included preterm birth and neonatal death.
The information was discovered in an investigation by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
“Any failure to provide new and potentially important safety information data to trial participants is ethically problematic,” bioethics professor at Western University in London, Canada, Charles Weijer told BMJ.
