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http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3178194.html

The HealthPartners clinic in Brooklyn Center is notifying about 2,000 patients, mostly children, that they may have received an ineffective vaccine against chickenpox because of storage problems in the clinic's freezer.

On Tuesday, HealthPartners started sending letters to everyone who had received the shot, known as the varicella vaccine, at the Brooklyn Center clinic between 1995 and mid-June of this year.

The clinic is offering to vaccinate them again free, or to test them to determine whether they are immune to the disease, according to Dr. Brian Rank, medical director of HealthPartners clinics.

This is the second time this summer that a Twin Cities medical group has announced a recall because of storage problems. In July, Park Nicollet Clinic notified about 3,400 patients that they may have received inactive vaccines because they had been exposed to freezing temperatures.

The problem, though, appears to be much more widespread, state health officials said. So far, they've found similar problems at 15 to 20 percent of the clinics they've inspected this year, according to Kristen Ehresmann, an epidemiologist in charge of the immunization program at the Minnesota Health Department.

Many of those clinics quietly notified their patients about the problem rather than make public announcements, Ehresmann said.

"This is a bigger issue than anybody anticipated," she said. Throughout the country, she said, health inspectors have turned up many cases of vaccine-storage problems since they began spot checks earlier this year.

At HealthPartners, officials say, the problem surfaced only at the Brooklyn Center clinic. A state health inspector discovered in June that the temperature in the freezer containing chickenpox vaccine was 11 degrees Fahrenheit, which is six degrees warmer than that recommended by the manufacturer. As a result, Rank said, they could not be sure whether the vaccine was still effective. Nor were they certain how long the freezer had been too warm, he said.

So, he said, they combed through clinic records and sent letters to everyone vaccinated there since the vaccine first became available, in 1995.

They also announced the recall publicly on Tuesday, he said, in case they can't locate all of the patients. HealthPartners also plans to install freezer alarms at all its clinics to ensure that the temperature stays within proper limits.

The clinic is recommending that children age 6 and older and adults have a blood test to check their immunity to the chickenpox virus. The results would determine whether they need another vaccination.

However, HealthPartners suggests revaccinating children between ages 1 and 5, to minimize the ordeal. Medical officials say there is no danger in receiving another dose of the vaccine.

"We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this vaccine recall has caused our patients," Rank said. "We have our patients' health and welfare in mind and want to assure our patients that we have taken steps to ensure this will not happen again."

-- Maura Lerner is at mlerner@startribune.com.

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ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.