Monday, Jul 6, 2015
An
audit found five South Jersey children were likely given the wrong
immunizations during a Salem County-sponsored "Shots for Tots" clinic,
health officials said. The most egregious error, officials said, was
when a toddler boy was likely given an excessive dose of a cervical
cancer vaccine.
The
free clinic was operated by the Salem County Health Department at
Memorial Hospital of Salem County in Mannington Township, officials
said. It has since been shut down.
Officials
reviewed 22 patient records during an annual audit and found
irregularities with shots given to at least five children between July
2014 and June 2015.
A
nurse was fired after officials learned a 2-year-old boy was injected
with a high dose of Gardasil, the cervical cancer vaccine. The child's
mother and pediatrician were notified late last month, officials said.
Health
officials are not sure whether the child would suffer negative effects,
but said he may be at risk of neurological damage. Shots of the HPV
vaccine are given to boys and girls starting at age 9.
The audit also found $20,000 worth of vaccines were not properly refrigerated. The drugs were thrown away.
Mandi
Cassidy, the nurse who was fired, told NBC10 Salem County was throwing
her under the bus. She insists she didn't make the mistake and resigned
before the medical audit was even released. Cassidy claims the County is
to blame.
"I
think they not only let down the residents of the county but they let
down the nurse that should've been trained properly," she said. Officials say they will pay for the medical monitoring of the five children.