Aspirating Covid-19 Vaccine
Adam Irish made this Official Information request to Ministry of Health
The request was partially successful.
From: Adam Irish
Dear Ministry of Health,
Under the Official Information Act I request whether it is standard procedure for those giving the Covid-19 vaccine to aspirate/pull back the syringe and check whether the vaccine has it a vain. And if not why not.
There appears to be research that shows the small number of negative side effects are occurring from the lack of practitioners aspirating when giving the vaccine.
Yours faithfully,
Adam
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora,
Thank you for your Official Information Act (the Act) request. This is
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Ngā mihi
OIA Services Team
[4]Ministry of Health information releases
[5]Unite against COVID-19
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References
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1. https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
2. http://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&a...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministr...
5. https://covid19.govt.nz/
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Adam,
Thank you for your request for official information. The Ministry's
reference number for your request is: H202114864
As required under the Official Information Act 1982, the Ministry will
endeavour to respond to your request no later than 20 working days after
the day your request was received. If you'd like to calculate the
timeframe, you can use the Ombudsman's online calculator
here: [1]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic response, the Ministry is experiencing
significantly higher volumes of queries and requests for information. If
we are unable to respond to your request within this time frame, we will
notify you of an extension of that time frame.
If you have any queries related to this request, please do not hesitate to
get in touch.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services
Government Services
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
E: [2][email address]
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Adam Irish left an annotation ()
Fact checked with references to NZ scientist - https://youtu.be/MXcddiS32s0
Additional information on aspirating -
https://youtu.be/KgVsd6qoyU4
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Adam
Thank you for your email on 24 October 2021 under the Official Information
Act 1982 for information relating to vaccine administration.
You requested:
"I request whether it is standard procedure for those giving the
Covid-19 vaccine to aspirate/pull back the syringe and check whether the
vaccine has it a vain. And if not why not."
Information regarding the aspiration/pull back of syringes during COVID-19
vaccination is available on The Immunisation Advisory Centre website:
[1]https://covid.immune.org.nz/faq/there-ne...
All vaccinators complete the Immunisation Advisory Centre training
requirements, including the Provisional Vaccinators Foundation course and
the Pfizer vaccine training module. Staff who are learning to draw up the
vaccine observe initially and then practice under supervision until the
supervisor is confident they meet all the requirements. A clinical lead,
responsible for ensuring clinical practice standards are adhered to at
every clinic, is assigned to each programme each day.
I trust this information fulfils your request. Under section 28(3) of the
Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review any decisions made
under this request. The Ombudsman may be contacted by email at:
[2][email address] or by calling 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services
Government Services
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
E: [3][email address]
show quoted sections
References
Visible links
1. https://covid.immune.org.nz/faq/there-ne...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[email address]
Chris left an annotation ()
The link in the reply is broken. Correct link seems to be this: https://covid.immune.org.nz/faq/there-ne...
But better still, why don't you just place the answer text in your response instead of relying on external links that might change. This is what the linked page says: "We are aware that occasionally consumers are requesting that the vaccinators aspirate the needle [pull back slightly to check for any minor blood vessels] prior to administration of the COVID vaccine. While this is currently not best practice and may be more uncomfortable for the patient, there is no danger associated with accommodating the consumer's requests. In the unlikely event that you did see any blood in the syringe after doing this, we would recommend revaccinating with a new syringe and needle."
Given that the presence of blood in the syringe is deemed serious enough to warrant re-vaccinating with a new syringe, one has to wonder why this aspiration check is not standard practice.
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Adam Irish left an annotation ()
*vaccine has hit a vain.
Link to this