NBC5 News reported Monday, Nov. 1, that two Garland boys, ages 6 and 7, were mistakenly given adult doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a pop-up event. Mount Hebron Church was hosting a Trunk or Treat event and the Garland Health Department was giving adult vaccines and boosters.
Julian Gonzalez, the father of the 6-year-old boy who attended the event to get the booster, said in a recorded statement to NBC5 that he was very angry.
“All I can do is for the moment be level-headed and hope he’s OK,” he said.
He said that one of the workers told him that they had vaccines for children. So, he gave permission for his son to receive it.
“They even had a form prepared that had an option to choose the vaccine for the child. It just seemed like everything was prepared and ready for that,” Gonzalez said.
The mother of the 6-year-old got a call Monday, Nov. 1, from a city official who said that her son being given the vaccine was a mistake.
The two children were given the adult dosage, which is three times stronger than the child’s dosage. In addition, at the time of this incident, the vaccine had not been approved for children.
Gonzalez went on to say that the city official would not answer their questions. He added that they just kept saying that the “proper channels had been notified.”
Gonzalez said his son’s arm hurts from the injection, he had a mild fever, headache and low energy level.
A Plano pediatrician, Dr. Marcial Oquendo said that the most important thing was the children would likely be OK.
Gonzalez said that the same form he was given to complete for his child to be vaccinated was still on the city of Garland’s website Monday evening.
A city representative said the city would take the form down immediately. In addition, he apologized to the families and said the city would be happy to answer any of their concerns. He added that the form was prepared in anticipation of children’s vaccines getting final approval soon.
“I think there needs to be checks and balances…We may come out OK from this but what if it happens somewhere else and someone is not as lucky,” Gonzales asked.”
Source: NBC5 News