Last year, flu infections were at an all time low given all the COVID restrictions that were put in place, but experts believe they’re going to be back with a vengeance in the coming months.
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People are being advised to prepare their body for an infection-ridden winter by getting their yearly flu shot before October—as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
But this has made things challenging for professionals who have been administering both flu and COVID jabs.
Accidental jab
In Maryland, a four-year-old was taken to get her annual flu shot at Walgreen in Baltimore. Due to a mix-up in the pharmacy, she was inoculated with Pfizer’s COVID vaccine instead. The child is now being monitored closely to see if any side effects show up, but Walgreens has assured the public that they are taking the matter very seriously. Phil Caruso, a spokesman for the pharmacy told Fox News:
Events like this are extremely rare and we take this matter very seriously.
We are in touch with the patient’s family and we have apologised. Our multi-step vaccination procedure includes several safety checks to minimise the chance of human error. We’ve recently reviewed this process with our pharmacy staff in order to prevent a future occurrence.
Pfizer jabs for children
As of now, none of the COVID vaccines have been approved for children under the age of 12. However, Pfizer has submitted data proving that the jab is in fact safe for children who are over 5 years old. Infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said that if the FDA gives the green light, doses for this age group could be rolled out at the end of October. He said on MSNBC’s Morning Show:
The FDA takes very seriously the importance of getting vaccines, shown to be safe and effective in children.
I would imagine in the next few weeks they will examine that data and hopefully give the O.K. so we can start vaccinating children hopefully by the end of October.
