Reducing Vaccination Errors This Booster Season

When people think of hepatitis C transmission in North America, they rarely think of it occurring at healthcare facilities. This is in contrast to the transmission of hep C in some countries like Egypt, where 12.5 to 26.6 percent of the population have hep C. The primary mode of transmission in Egypt has been through contaminated blood transfusions and infected needles.¹

This differs from North America, where injection drug use is the current most common means of acquiring hep C. However, errors can happen in healthcare settings even in North America, potentially putting people at risk of acquiring hepatitis C and other blood-borne pathogens.²

A COVID vaccination error

I recently read an article about a pharmacist in Canada reusing syringes for COVID vaccinations administered at a community pharmacy. As a pharmacist myself, I was quite shocked by this. There was a lapse in judgment of the healthcare professional involved, but it is still not clear why this occurred, given that they had decades of experience practicing.³

In this case, only the syringes were reused, not the needles. While the risk of transmission of blood-borne viruses, such as hep C, is low, there is still a small risk.³

Of course, people who received COVID vaccinations at that facility were contacted and informed of the potential exposure. The individuals were encouraged to contact their physicians and get tested for blood-borne pathogens. As you can imagine, this was quite distressing for all the individuals involved.

What can you do to protect yourself?

Reading this story made me think about how we can protect ourselves from such errors. It is important to note that the chance of this happening in North America is, overall, very low. All healthcare professionals go through rigorous training and are required to use sterile needles and syringes for each injection.

However, with COVID boosters ramping up, errors can happen. To reduce the chance of the above happening to you, there are a few things you can do:

• If the vaccine has already been drawn up, ask the healthcare professional whether a new syringe was used. Some clinics have protocols to draw up the vaccine only when you arrive, so, in some cases, you can witness them peeling the wrapper from a new syringe.
• Depending on the clinic, you can witness your healthcare professional unwrap a new needle and secure it onto the syringe. If this wasn’t done in front of you, you have the right to ask the personnel whether a sterile needle is adhered to that syringe.
• Once injected, witness the healthcare professional putting the used syringe and needle in a sharps container. To prevent errors, used syringes should never be left lying around.
• Get your vaccines! While there are no vaccines (yet) for HIV and hep C to protect you in the event of accidental exposure, there are vaccines available for other types of hepatitis. If you haven’t yet had your hep A or hep B vaccines, speak to your doctor.

Have you or a loved one been involved in a similar medical mishap that raised concerns? Share your stories below.