A probe has been launched after some patients received the wrong flu jab from NHS England. The "small number" of patients aged above 65 were vaccinated with a harmless but less effective shot.
The oversight is being treated as a "potential serious incident" but the NHS has emphasised that there is "no clinical risk" to having received the standard egg culture influenza vaccine (QIVe), which is says still offers some protection. It adds that all those affected will be contacted and given the opportunity to be vaccinated again if they wish.
The Express reports that NHS England has not confirmed precisely how many people were affected and says some cases were recorded as a QIVe jab as a result of "reporting errors". More than 15 million flu jabs have been administered to over 65s and other eligible groups.
A letter sent out by NHS England's South East regional team, titled In confidence: potential serious incident in the flu programme, read: "The NHS regional direct commissioning team are investigating reported administration of QIVe flu vaccine to patients aged 65 years or older by a number of primary care providers (primary care and pharmacy) across the region QIVe is not recommended for use in this age group due to its poor effectiveness."
Officials are in the process of liaising directly with practices and pharmacies where there was a record of QIVe vaccine having been given. This is to work out if it is a case of a recording coding error or a genuine administration of QIVe.
Initial reports suggest it could be a "mixture of both", reported the Daily Mail. The letter, seen by the Health Service Journal, added: "If any patient 65 or over has received QIVe, we will be asking the practice or pharmacist to treat this as an incident.
"Patients will need to be contacted, informed of the error, its potential implications and offered the opportunity to receive a vaccine which is appropriate for their age group. We are aware this situation is replicated nationwide and the General Pharmaceutical Council has been informed."
An NHS spokesman said: "While this issue was found to be mainly a result of data being recorded inaccurately, there is no clinical risk to the small number of patients affected and all providers have been asked to contact those impacted."
NHS England have stressed it is "vital" that all those offered a flu jab still attend their appointments as we head into winter. Those who are not eligible for a free vaccine can still get the jab, although it will have to be paid for.
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