Responding to questions from Members of Parliament about safeguards to prevent overdosing or underdosing of COVID-19 vaccines, Dr Puthucheary said all providers under the National Vaccination Programme are licensed and regulated by the MOH.
Additional regulations stipulating eligibility criteria, dilution and administration of the recommended dosage for each vaccine have been issued specifically for COVID-19 vaccination.
“Vaccination providers are expected to assess their staff competencies in COVID-19 vaccination administration,” he added.
Dr Puthucheary said that in the event of any vaccine administration errors and medical emergencies following vaccination, vaccination providers are required to report to MOH no later than three hours after the incident.
Providers also need to inform patients immediately when a vaccination error has occurred, and monitor their health with daily calls for the next seven days to ensure their well-being.
In the event of an error, MOH will investigate and if there are any systemic issues, it will work with providers to review and improve their work processes, Dr Puthucheary added.
He said MOH was currently investigating ProHealth Medical Group about the incident and will take appropriate enforcement actions if there are any regulatory breaches.
“The vast majority of the clinics and vaccine providers do a great job of ensuring that the patients are cared for safely, the vaccines are provided safely with the correct dosage,” said Dr Puthucheary.
“We have to identify, first of all, whether this is an issue with individual member personnel, whether it’s something about the processes at the site or whether it is something systemic about the overall vaccination process.
“All our data, so far, suggests that the last is not likely, and the vast majority of our doses have been delivered quite safely. Nevertheless MOH continues to review all of this.”