Several children in Germany were accidentally vaccinated with a coronavirus vaccine that had not yet been approved for their age group on Sunday, local officials said.
At a vaccination centre of the Olpe district in North Rhine-Westphalia, several children were injected with the Moderna vaccine. Only Pfizer/BioNTech has been approved for children so far.
"The parents of the affected children were immediately informed about the incident," the district announced.
In a conversation with the medical director of the vaccination centre, the parents were informed that the approval for the Moderna vaccine for children was still pending at the European Medicines Agency.
At the time of leaving the vaccination centre, no abnormalities were observed in the children.
At the request of the parents, the incident was reported to police.
The number of children involved was not disclosed.
Employee mistake
The vaccination centre is taking the employee's mistake as an opportunity to review all procedures and child vaccinations.
"If further cases are discovered, the parents will be informed," it said.
In November, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) gave the green light for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for children from the age of 5. It was the first vaccine approved in the EU for children under 12.
Children receive only one-third of the adult dose.
