Toronto Hospital apologizes after giving 15-year-old the wrong COVID-19 vaccine

Michael Garron Hospital is apologizing and reviewing its procedures after a 15-year-old boy was given the Moderna shot instead of Pfizer. Pfizer is the only vaccine approved for people 12 to 17 although Moderna has applied to Health Canada to be approved as well.

The boy, 15-year-old Rakin Choudhury of Toronto said he went to the Warden Hilltop Community Centre, which is operated by Michael Garron Hospital to get the shot. "When we were first registering for the vaccine, we told the person with the iPad at least four or five times that we were getting Pfizer," Choudhury said, speaking to CTV News Toronto.

When Choudhury received his receipt after the shot he noticed he was given Moderna, not Pfizer. Choudhury family said he experienced some nausea after the vaccine but is doing better now. Michael Garron Hospital released a statement apologizing for the error and said a review is being conducted.

"The patient is stable and the incident is being reviewed with the team to ensure processes are in place to prevent this error from occurring in the future," said Wolf Klassen, Vice President of Program Support at Michael Garron Hospital. Due to supply issues, most adults in Ontario are receiving Moderna while Pfizer is being given as the only approved shot for adolescents.

"Before this becomes more widespread, we need to stop it," Choudhury said. On June 7, Moderna announced it had filed for Health Canada authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine to be used for adolescents.  The vaccine was "generally well tolerated" and there were no significant safety concerns, according to Moderna.