Minsa would have made a mistake when applying fourth dose of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine

They report that the Ministry of Health (Minsa) had negligently applied the fourth dose of the vaccine against COVID-19, thus generating adverse effects a little more intense in older adults and immunized medical personnel.

Among the complaints, it is reported that health personnel suffered from headache, diarrhea, vomiting, myalgia, arthralgia and general malaise. “I am a doctor, I was vaccinated this Wednesday, April 20 with 0.5 mL (100 ug) of Spikevax (Moderna), the next day, in addition to fever, diarrhea, nausea, headache, I did hypertensive crisis (Blood Pressure 180/110 mmHg),” a galena indicated on social networks.

According to specialists, in the fourth dose, Minsa had to administer 50 micrograms of the product, however, twice as much (100 micrograms) was used when placing the booster with the Moderna company vaccine.

After realizing the error, Raúl Urquizo, dean of the Medical College of Peru, met with the expert committee to evaluate what happened and take preventive measures, since the Ministry of Health, as the specialist told El Comercio, did not communicate with the committee before the implementation of this reinforcement.

“On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the vaccination of the fourth dose was carried out at the Medical College. On Thursday we began to see some slightly more noticeable adverse effects in those vaccinated. We started looking for information and realized that the dose was not what we thought they were applying to us, it was twice as much,” says Urquizo.

For his part, the research director of the Southern Scientific University, Percy Mayta-Tristan, considered that the alleged negligence spoils the vaccination campaign against COVID-19.

“We all thought Minsa was doing the right thing. In fact, it's approved like that. The document detailing how each vaccine should be applied clearly states that the Moderna booster dose is half the dose, as stated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA),” the director of research of the Southern Scientific University, Percy Mayta-Tristan, commented to the aforementioned media outlet.

MINSA IS PRONOUNCED

In a statement, the Ministry of Health alleged that at no time have doses greater than 100 micrograms been placed and that they have worked “on the basis of the recommendations of the Immunization expert committee”, so the fourth dose will be 50 micrograms.

This does not specify whether, in the past, they have applied doses of 100 micrograms for boosters with Moderna's vaccines, which would have caused adverse effects on a large number of doctors and nurses, as they themselves narrated in different media.

“The Minsa statement plays on a double truth. It is true that the dose of Moderna is 50 or 100 micrograms, but they do not need that the booster dose is 50 [...] They are not going to say it because it is acknowledging error,” said Mayta-Tristan.

Instead, Minsa denied the accounts of health personnel. “So far, no severe adverse effects have been reported related to the application of the Moderna vaccine, while active surveillance of mimes continues,” the statement read.

It should be noted that health professionals can report adverse events (theirs or those of their patients) linked to the fourth dose in the application of the General Directorate of Drugs, Supplies and Drugs (Digemid) (CLICK HERE).

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