MINNEAPOLIS July 10 — Freezing
temperatures may have ruined thousands of doses of vaccines, meaning
patients may need new injections, but the clinic that gave the shots
said no one was in danger.
About 3,400 people, half of them children, received the questionable
vaccines from Park Nicollet Clinic in the Minneapolis metropolitan area.
The vaccines included polio booster shots, hepatitis A and B shots and
Prevnar, a vaccine for infants and toddlers.
There have been no signs of illness so far among the patients, though
some probably weren't protected against disease, said Dr. Hal Martin,
medical director of Park Nicollet's travel clinic.
The patients received their vaccines on days when temperatures in
storage rooms fell below freezing. The vaccines are supposed to be kept
at 35 to 46 degrees.
The problem came to light at a Park Nicollet clinic in suburban
Minnetonka. A check of storage logs revealed the same problem at eight
other Park Nicollet sites since December.
The same cold-storage problem has also been found at five or six
other unidentified clinics in Minnesota, state epidemiologist Kristen
Ehresmann said. It also has been happening around the country, according
to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
Park Nicollet said it was spending about $300,000 to correct the
problem, including providing replacement shots.
Getting a second vaccine is safe, medical officials said. "It might
cause a sore arm, but you cannot be overvaccinated," Martin said.
On the Net:
Park Nicollet Clinics: http://www.parknicollet.com
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