Vaccine error may require new shots.

Byline: Tim Christie The Register-Guard

SPRINGFIELD - About 500 people - mostly children - who were immunized at a Springfield health clinic in the past two years may need to get another round of shots because vaccines were stored improperly, clinic officials said Monday.

The improperly stored vaccines are not harmful but may not provide patients with full immunity and therefore cannot be guaranteed to be effective, said Selene Jaramillo, clinical services coordinator for Community Health Centers of Lane County.

The vaccines in question include those for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (or DTaP, TDap Td); polio (or IPV); hepatitis A and B; and pneumococcal (or Prevnar). In addition, about eight doses of human papillomavirus vaccine that were administered may have been stored improperly as well, said Mimi Luther, vaccine manager for the state Public Health Division.

The vaccines were kept at too cold a temperature in a refrigerator at the Springfield Health Center clinic at Springfield High School between July 2005 and May 2007, she said. The clinic serves the entire school district, as well as members of the community.

The problem was detected in May when state immunization officials were conducting a review of the clinic's vaccine storage and management program, Jaramillo said. Since that time, public health officials have been reviewing vaccine records to determine whether a recall was warranted and how far back to go, she said.

The federally funded clinic sent out letters on Friday to patients affected by the recall, asking them to call the clinic to determine whether revaccination is necessary. If revaccination is required, the new shots will be provided free of charge.

The vaccines in question are paid for with federal dollars. The replacement cost of the vaccine that was stored improperly is about $22,000, Luther said. That doesn't include the "significant costs" to the clinic associated with vaccinating people all over again, she said.

"They have to provide the service all over again without getting paid," she said.

Similar problems of improper storage and administration of vaccines happens about two or three times a year at Oregon health clinics, Luther said.

The actual risk to those who received ineffective vaccines is not known, but in theory it is quite low because the "herd immunity" in Oregon among school-age children is quite high, Luther said. Herd immunity means that a large proportion of the population is immune to disease, so that those who are not immune are unlikely to be exposed.

In Oregon, that means that aside from pertussis, also known as whooping cough, very few vaccine-preventable diseases are circulating in the community, she said.

Jaramillo said the clinic put new system checks in place to prevent similar storage problems from occurring in the future.

"We sincerely regret any inconvenience this situation will cause our patients," she said.

VACCINE CHECK

Anyone who was vaccinated at the Springfield Health Clinic at Springfield High School between July 1, 2005, and May 1, 2007, should call the clinic at 744-4130 to determine whether revaccination is required. Clinic hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, but evening and Saturday hours may be scheduled as well.