TORONTO -- A 95-year-old woman in Toronto has been stuck in a hospital for more than two weeks after mistakenly receiving a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Brenda Whalen received her second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at her Toronto retirement home in late February, but just two days later received another dose at North York General Hospital while she was visiting for treatment of a leg injury.
Gwen Cole, Brenda鈥檚 daughter, told CTVNews.ca that doctors told her they had an extra dose of the vaccine and checked with her mother鈥檚 retirement home, who told them that she had not received her second dose as scheduled.
鈥淚'm thinking: 鈥楽he went to the hospital that day, so it is quite possible that she didn't get it because she was going to the hospital,鈥欌 Cole said Thursday in a phone interview.
Shortly after speaking with the hospital and consenting to the vaccine, Whalen鈥檚 retirement home contacted Cole to tell the hospital not to administer the vaccine as she had in fact received her second dose two days prior, but it was too late.
Cole said doses at the retirement home are administered through Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto and not the home itself, which may have led to the miscommunication.
North York General Hospital declined to comment, citing 鈥減rivacy and patient confidentiality obligations.鈥
In a statement, Wolf Klassen, vice president of program support at Michael Garron Hospital, said the hospital has been vaccinating essential workers and residents in long-term care homes since December and all vaccinations are 鈥渞ecorded in a provincial documentation system.鈥
鈥淲e are currently reviewing the details of this case in collaboration with North York General Hospital however privacy laws restrict us from publicly talking about specific details of patient care,鈥 Klassen wrote in the statement. 鈥淲e are wishing Brenda Whalen a speedy recovery from her recent hospitalization.鈥
Revera, the company operating Whalen鈥檚 retirement home, have not responded to requests for comment from 麻豆影视 Toronto.
Cole said her mother had some complications after the first dose, including trouble breathing when walking, but doctors could not determine the problem. Things got progressively worse with the second and third doses.
鈥淪he went overnight from being totally able to take care of herself -- she did have a caregiver that dressed her in the morning and at night because she has bad arthritis, but mentally she was totally there -- to absolutely not being able to talk to her,鈥 she said.
Cynthia Whalen, another of Whalen鈥檚 daughters, told CTVNews.ca that her mother also became increasingly confused after each dose.
鈥淪he's totally incapacitated,鈥 Cynthia said. 鈥淪he has no idea, not only that it's me 鈥 but that there's anybody there most times. She can't eat. She can't walk.鈥
鈥淚 don't think I'll ever have a conversation with her again.鈥
Cynthia said her mother was not in the best of shape before her vaccine and had an asymptomatic infection of COVID-19 back in December, so the extra dose and her mother鈥檚 condition may be coincidental, but doctors haven鈥檛 been able to figure out what鈥檚 wrong with her.
鈥淭hey originally thought it was a stroke, but they've done scans and so forth, and there's nothing wrong that they can find,鈥 Cynthia said.
Cole said a neurologist looking into the matter and said the issue appears to be 鈥渇lu-like symptoms,鈥 rather than a neurological issue.
鈥淚'm not saying that the vaccines have put her in this, but they cannot find any reason for her to be in this state,鈥 she said.
Whalen said once her mother is released from hospital, she will need increased care, which could mean additional costs and separating her parents -- who have been married for 70 years -- in different units.
鈥淪he's going to need feeding鈥 she's going to need her medication given to her. So that's an additional $8,000 from what we're already paying,鈥 Cynthia said.
Cole wonders why her mother鈥檚 vaccine history isn鈥檛 attached to her health-card records, which could鈥檝e given doctors the notice that she had received two doses already.
鈥淵ou would think that that would be something that would be done immediately,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 would have thought that it would be on my information.鈥
This isn鈥檛 the first time someone was sent to hospital after mistakenly receiving an additional dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Last month, 91-year-old Victor Smith was sent to an Ohio hospital after receiving two doses of the COVID-19 on the same day and going into shock.
Correction:
A previous version of this story indicated that Brenda Whalen received her second and third doses on back-to-back days, but they were two days apart. The previous version also stated that the hospital had not reached the retirement home, but Gwen Cole has since said that the retirement home told the hospital that Whalen had not received a second dose.
