MOH investigating death of woman, 103, who was mistakenly given 4th COVID shot

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Friday (4 February) it is concluding its investigation on the death of a 103-year-old nursing home resident who was mistakenly given a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

The woman was a resident at ECON Healthcare – Chai Chee Nursing Home who was administered with the fourth dose by a mobile vaccination team from PanCare Medical Clinic. She had previously received three doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and was erroneously given a fourth shot on 13 December last year.

On 16 December, she was admitted to Changi General Hospital for pneumonia and hyponatremia, and later diagnosed to have suffered a stroke. She died on 10 January, MOH said.

The Coroner ordered for an autopsy, which found that the main cause of death was pneumonia, with other contributing factors being stroke and coronary artery disease, which are natural disease processes common in seniors. “The Coroner has not determined whether these causes of death were linked to the vaccination,” MOH said.

MOH is carrying out a thorough investigation and expects the investigations to conclude later this month.

“Our preliminary findings were that the vaccine was erroneously administered due to possible irregularities in vaccination procedures and poor communication between the nursing home and the medical service provider handling the vaccination,” MOH said. It was the first case of mistaken identity leading to erroneous vaccination by a mobile vaccination team in over 152,000 vaccinations to date.

MOH had initially planned to announce this incident in December but the family of the resident had requested to withhold details which could have led to her identification. It has since consulted the family further and is releasing the information to give clarity on the incident.

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