New Jersey Children Given Wrong Vaccines

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.

Shots for Tots Clinic: 5 out of 22 Kids Given Wrong Vaccination

 

 

Several children in South Jersey were given the wrong vaccination shots and now officials are trying to ease parents' concerns. NBC10's Tim Furlong is in Salem County with the latest on the "Shots for Tots" clinic. (Published Monday, Jul 6, 2015)

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.