An investigation has been launched in 253 people, including many infants, who expired within two months.
The case came to light following a complaint submitted by the parliamentary group EH Bildu to the parliament of the Basque Country. Health authorities stressed that no side effects have been reported in the recipients, while all those involved have already been informed.
The expired lot concerns the inactivated vaccine, a critical childhood vaccine that protects against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type B, polio and hepatitis B. The vaccine is routinely given to infants as part of the immunization schedule. According to the Basque Country’s health system, known as Osakidetza, the expired doses “do not pose any health risk or side effect”.
Systemic weaknesses
EH Bildu claims that some patients received not just one but two expired doses, criticizing Osakidetza for failing to monitor vaccine expiration dates and not following established protocols.
“Osakidetza did not monitor the traceability of the expiration date and did not comply with established procedures and protocols,” the parliamentary initiative in Álava said, according to the Basque Country’s public channel EITB. Expired vaccines were administered in 12 of the 13 integrated health organizations of the Basque Country.
New dose
Alberto Martínez, the Basque Country’s Minister of Health from the Nationalist Party (PNV), said that “each case is identified and the families are informed directly so that they can be given the necessary instructions.”
Osakidetza, Spain’s national pharmaceutical agency, the Basque Country’s Vaccination Council and the vaccine’s manufacturer recommend that everyone involved be given a new dose for full protection. Health centers started contacting families on Wednesday to schedule new refill appointments.
Second vaccine scandal in recent months
The incident comes just four months after another vaccine scandal in the region. In September 2025, a trial began against a pediatric nurse in Sandurci, Biscay province, accused of vaccinating children while actually throwing away the vials.
Prosecutors estimate that more than 400 children were left unvaccinated in 2021 and 2022 because of the nurse’s alleged actions. The two separate incidents have raised concerns about vaccination protocols and oversight in the Basque Country’s health system, although authorities assure that the expired vaccines do not endanger the health of those who received them.
