None of the victims - most of them infants - have had any adverse side effects.
Health authorities in Spain's Basque Country have launched an investigation after expired vaccines were administered to 253 people, including dozens of infants, over a two-month period in the region's public health system.
The case came to light following a complaint filed by the EH Bildu parliamentary group to the Basque Parliament. Health officials have stressed that no adverse effects have been reported among those who received the expired doses, and all affected individuals have been contacted.
More than 250 people have been impacted, including dozens of babies, but have not shown ie any side effects.
The expired batch involves the hexavalent vaccine, a crucial childhood immunization that protects against six diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, haemophilus influenzae type B, polio, and hepatitis B. The vaccine is routinely administered to infants as part of standard immunisation schedules.
According to the Basque health system, known as Osakidetza, the expired injections "do not entail any type of health impact or adverse effect."
Systemic Failures Alleged
EH Bildu has alleged that some patients received not just one but two expired doses, criticizing Osakidetza for failing to properly monitor vaccine expiration dates and follow established protocols.
"Osakidetza has not monitored the traceability of the expiry date and has not complied with the established procedures and protocols," the party stated in its legislative initiative in Álava, according to Basque public broadcaster EITB.
The expired vaccines were administered across 12 of the 13 integrated health organizations in the Basque Country, a region in northern Spain with its own autonomous health system.
Families Being Contacted for Revaccination
Alberto Martínez, the Basque Minister of Health from the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), said in a statement that "each and every one of the cases are perfectly identified and the families are being contacted to inform them directly and offer the necessary indications."
Both Osakidetza and Spain's national medicines agency, along with the Basque Vaccine Advisory Council and the vaccine manufacturer, recommend that all affected individuals receive a replacement dose to ensure full protection.
Health centers began contacting families Wednesday to schedule new appointments for revaccination.
Second Vaccine Controversy in Recent Months
The incident comes just four months after another vaccine-related scandal in the region. In September 2025, a trial began against a pediatric nurse in Santurtzi, a town in Biscay province, who is accused of pretending to vaccinate children while actually discarding vaccine vials.
Prosecutors estimate that more than 400 children were left unvaccinated during 2021 and 2022 as a result of that nurse's alleged actions.
The two separate incidents have raised concerns about vaccine administration protocols and oversight in the Basque health system, though authorities maintain that the expired vaccines pose no health risk to those who received them.
