Woman says the doctor’s office could not identify the flu shot they gave her. Then the mistake follows her for years: ‘And they’re like..’
Getting a vaccine should be simple. Patients should know what shot they are getting, and it should be added to their medical records.
But one woman says a mistake at her doctor’s office turned into a problem that followed her for years. The office allegedly could not explain what vaccine she had received, and later, the shots kept going missing from her records.
TikTok creator Bella (@bellaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa22) says it started when she visited a doctor’s office at 16 while very sick with mono. In a video with 13.8 million views, she claims she was accidentally given a meningitis vaccine meant for another patient.
Then things got even more confusing
Bella explains that she originally went to the doctor because she had mono and was extremely sick. While there, she realized she was due for a flu shot and asked whether she could get it done during the same visit. Staff allegedly refused because of how sick she was. “We can’t give you a flu shot,” she recalls being told.
A little later, another nurse allegedly entered with a vaccination. Confused after being told she could not get a flu shot, Bella looked at her father, who encouraged her to get it so they would not have to return. She received the injection but soon noticed something unusual.
Other patients had whiteboards listing vaccinations and treatments, according to Bella, but her shot was allegedly missing from hers and her discharge paperwork. Still sick, she went home and told her mother she believed she had received a flu shot. Her mother questioned why the office would give her one after saying she was too sick for it.
Her mother then called the doctor’s office to ask what vaccine she had received, but staff initially insisted there was no record of any shot. “There’s nothing on here. She didn’t get a shot,” Bella says. Her mother pushed back, saying she could see the injection site on Bella’s arm, and the office said it would call her back.
Bella claims the doctor eventually admitted that they believed she had been given what she describes as the “second strain” of a meningitis vaccination. She alleges it had been intended for another patient, raising questions about how the office mixed up two patients.
The office allegedly asked her to return about a month later, after she had recovered, for blood work. Bella explains that the results led staff to conclude the meningitis vaccine was likely what she had received. She then received what she describes as the first and second meningitis shots.
The issue resurfaced when Bella submitted her vaccination records for college. The school allegedly told her she was missing the meningitis vaccines, while the doctor’s office again had no record of them, showing how important accurate medical records can be. Bella received the shots again, bringing her alleged total to five.
Years later, the same problem allegedly followed her to Chicago for law school, where her records again showed she was missing the meningitis vaccines. Bella told her primary care provider the story and offered to get the shots again, but her doctor added a note confirming she had received them. She says that finally resolved the problem.
Viewers were stunned by the alleged mistake and missing records, with many questioning why Bella’s family did not take legal action. “You should have actually sued them,” one commenter wrote. Others questioned why she returned to the same office. “I’m dumbfounded that you WENT BACK?!!!” another wrote.
Bella ends her story by pointing out that despite what she describes as receiving far more meningitis shots than expected, she is fine. Her account has not been independently verified, and she does not identify the doctor’s office involved.
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