Woman given two doses of vaccine same day

A 70-year-old woman is under observation at Nagapattinam Government Hospital after she was administered two doses of COVID-19 vaccines on a single day.

According to senior health officials, the woman, identified as Alamelu of Vanduvancheri went to a vaccination camp organised by the Health Department on Monday. She queued up for the first dose of the vaccine and was administered Covishield. Later, she joined another queue and got a shot of Covaxin.

A Village Health Nurse, who was manning the waiting room, alerted officials.

Upon further investigation, it was found that the woman had tokens for both vaccines.

Two tokens issued

“The Health Department distributes tokens for the vaccination camps door-to-door. In this case, the woman held two tokens, one each for Covishield and Covaxin,” a senior health official said.

The woman was rushed to Nagapattinam District Headquarters Hospital where she was under observation.

“Various tests, including an electrocardiogram, Computed tomography scan were conducted and the results have all shown that she is alright. The patient’s blood pressure was slightly high and medication has been given,” the official said.

The Department took action against the doctor on duty and the staff nurse in charge of the vaccination camp for negligence.