Spain: Legal action against nurse for faking administration of vaccines to kids, says report

Several families in Spain's Basque Country have taken legal action against a nurse after she was accused of faking the administration of vaccines to children. According to a report by the Guardian on Tuesday (February 28), the nurse, who has not been identified, had been tasked with immunising children for infections such as hepatitis B and meningitis at a local healthcare centre.

Last year, local authorities opened an investigation after parents expressed concerns about the nurse's attempts to discourage them from getting their children inoculated during visits to a health centre in Saturtzi. The parents also expressed concerns about the way the nurse appeared to inject the vaccines.

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The Guardian report said the matter came to light this week when 42 families launched a legal challenge that accused the nurse of falsifying documents and misusing public funds.

Aitzol Asla, the lawyer representing these families, said, “All of these families have been vaccinated – or not – by this nurse." Asla added some families noticed the nurse was oddly administering vaccines- jabbing it very quickly and then appearing that as though she would throw the vial into the trash bin.

Following complaints from families in September last year, authorities conducted antibody tests on 50 children inoculated in the health centre, dividing them into two groups based on which nurse saw them.

"After the tests carried out in October on a first group of fifty minors belonging to two different quotas, it has been possible to verify that most of those belonging to one of the quotas analyzed did not have correct immunisation," a statement from the regional authority on November 2 said. The authority said those affected would be properly vaccinated, adding, testing would be expanded to a further 400 children who were believed tohave been treated by the nurse.

Meanwhile, Aitzol Asla said since months (after this incident occurred), health officials provided little details to the affected families. Asla added that parents were worried about what could have happened to their children. The lawyer also highlighted that nothing bad happened till now, The Guardian reported. The families behind the legal challenge are to appear in court in March, Asla said.

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