According to the hospital's director, Le Dang Khoa, the four were among six children who were each given a dose of the Hexaxim vaccine at the Thang Binh Commune Healthcare Centre in Nong Cong District on the morning of May 9.
"Two of them have a fever," the doctor said. "The four are now in a stable condition."
A report from local authorities said that after leaving the vaccination point the same morning, their families checked the cover of the vaccine to find that they had expired in March 2023. After being informed by the children's families, Thang Binh Commune Healthcare Centre checked the vaccine lot again and found four doses had expired in March.
Head of the healthcare centre, Phan Van Chuong, said that they had immediately brought the four children who had been given the expired vaccine to Thanh Hoa Provincial Children's Hospital for monitoring. They had also informed the Thanh Hoa Provincial Health Department and concerned agencies about the incident.
Director of the Nong Cong District Healthcare Centre, Tran Anh Nam, said that they bought 165 doses of the Hexaxim vaccine from Hanoi Medical Materials and Equipment Joint Stock Company on May 23, 2022 and then allocated the lot to Thang Binh Commune Healthcare Centre on June 7, 2022.
"We're monitoring the children's condition and will investigate the case," Nam said.
Hexaxim is indicated for primary and booster vaccination of infants and toddlers from six weeks to 24 months of age against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, poliomyelitis and invasive diseases caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b.