Basque Health Service Probes Administration of 253 Expired Childhood Vaccines
Spain’s Basque Country health service, Osakidetza, initiated an internal investigation after confirming that 253 children received doses of the hexavalent vaccine past their expiration date. Authorities confirmed the lapse occurred around January 15, but officials stated the expired doses pose no immediate health risk to the affected infants. The inquiry aims to pinpoint the failure within the regional supply chain to prevent future recurrence.
Basque Health Service Probes Administration of 253 Expired Childhood Vaccines
Health authorities in Spain’s Basque Country launched an investigation after 253 children, primarily infants, were administered doses of the hexavalent vaccine that had surpassed their shelf life. Osakidetza, the regional public health service, began contacting the families involved following the detection of the issue on January 15, according to a statement released Wednesday.The primary concern centers on the administrative failure within the procurement or distribution network, rather than immediate patient safety, as confirmed by regional officials. The hexavalent vaccine protects against six critical childhood diseases, including diphtheria, polio, and hepatitis B.Regulatory Oversight and Safety AssessmentBasque Health Minister Alberto Martinez confirmed that consultations with the national regulator, the AEMPS, and the manufacturer determined the expired vaccines present no known adverse effects. Despite this reassurance regarding physical safety, the Minister characterized the administrative error as “serious” and issued an apology to the affected families.Given the seriousness of what happened, we have opened an internal investigation to clarify and identify the link in the supply chain where the error may have occurred and thus implement corrective measures to prevent a recurrence of such events,” Martinez stated.The incident highlights the operational division of responsibilities within Spain’s decentralized healthcare structure. While the central government, through AEMPS, oversees national medicine regulation, the Basque Country maintains full self-government over local health policy implementation.The affected vaccine protects against six diseases.The error was identified internally on January 15.The investigation targets the supply chain link responsible for the lapse.The internal probe will focus on tracing the exact point in the supply chain where inventory management failed to flag the expired stock. This type of localized failure in inventory control can erode public confidence in broader national health security protocols.The outcome of this investigation will be closely observed by other autonomous Spanish regions managing their own vaccine stocks. Corrective actions implemented by Osakidetza are expected to serve as a benchmark for reinforcing cold chain and expiration date monitoring nationwide.
