Some Babies Injected With Rotavirus Vaccines Instead of Being Given Orally: CDC Report

A recent CDC report reveals that rotavirus vaccines that need to be given as oral shots are often mistakenly injected in infants by health providers.

The Rotavirus vaccine was introduced in 2006 in the U.S. to protect against diarrhea. The report states the vaccine does not work if injected and not given orally. Between 2006 and 2010 39 incidences of wrong administration of rotavirus vaccines have been reported

In six cases the nurses did not have proper training and failed to give the vaccines properly.

According to CDC health experts, such incidences primarily happen as many of the nurses are undertrained. Despite clear instructions on the label, they fail to administer the vaccines properly.

In 50 percent of the cases, the children who were injected with the vaccine reported side effects. As many of these cases go under reported, the researchers say the number of cases may to be much higher than estimated in the study.

 The report cautions that health care providers need to be extremely careful and well trained to know when they need to give oral shots or to inject the vaccine. In 27 cases the shots splashed into someone's eye while being given orally to the babies.

In 18 cases the infants coughed, sneezed or spitted the medication into the eyes of the health care providers or their parents. In three cases the children spilled the shots into their own eyes.

"Vaccination providers should be aware of the potential for eye splashes. Vaccine should be administered gently inside the cheek to minimize coughing, sneezing and spitting," reports Fox news.

A recent study reveals that rotavirus vaccines can cause dangerous intestinal blockage in infants although the cases reported are not high.