New Jersey – At least five children were given the wrong immunizations at a health clinic for the uninsured, including a 2-year-old boy who got an “excessive dose” of a cervical cancer prevention vaccine, authorities said.
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The Salem County-run “Shots for Tots” program has been shuttered while officials try to determine how and why the errors occurred. Two full-time nurses who ran the clinic have resigned from the county Health Department, and the county prosecutor’s office is reviewing the matter.
None of the children has apparently suffered any adverse health effects because of the errors. But the county has agreed to pay for the children’s medical monitoring costs “for the foreseeable future.”
Officials say the five children visited the clinic between October 2014 and June 2015. The irregularities there came to light during an annual state compliance audit.
A further review found two children were injected with expired vaccines, and a third got a flu mist dose even though the child was under the age recommended to receive the mist.
There is concern that the 2-year-old who received the Gardasil vaccine for cervical cancer might later suffer neurological effects, officials said.
Officials are still trying to determine what type of vaccine the fifth child received.