Some patients at OKC Indian Clinic may have gotten ineffective vaccine

Oklahoma City — Some youth who got vaccines at the Oklahoma City Indian Clinic will need to get another shot after a refrigerator malfunction.

David Toahty, chief development officer at the clinic, said about 120 children and teens got vaccines that may not have been effective. The clinic is calling parents to notify them that they should bring their children in for another shot.

A refrigerator unit malfunctioned over Memorial Day weekend, dropping vials containing vaccines against HPV, polio and meningococcal disease to a lower-than-optimal temperature, Toahty said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend storing most vaccines between 35 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit.

Some parents who learned their children got the vaccines that had been at the wrong temperature feared they would develop meningitis or other diseases, but vaccine experts say that's not possible. The vaccines may be less effective if they get too cold, but they can't spread diseases.

The meningococcal, HPV and injectable polio vaccines don't contain any live viruses or bacteria. In some parts of the world, polio vaccination involves a weakened form of the virus, but that type of vaccine hasn't been used in the United States since 2000.

While the shots aren't dangerous, giving them under that situation may have been a breach of protocol.

Tony Sellars, spokesman for the Health Department, said clinics that participate in the Vaccines for Children program are required to file a report when vaccines get too warm or too cold. The immunization service at the department then determines if the vaccine still will be effective, and clinics aren't allowed to give the shots until they receive a go-ahead, he said. Vaccines that aren't effective should be returned to McKesson, the manufacturer.

“While that decision is being rendered, the providers cannot use the vaccine,” he said.

The clinic called the Vaccines for Children office at the state Department of Health to ask what they should do with the vaccines, Toahty said. Earlier this month, the Health Department notified the clinic that it couldn't be sure the vaccines were effective, so children who got shots from that batch should be vaccinated again, he said.

“We followed the proper protocol by notifying the manufacturers and the state,” he said. “They just took about a month to notify us.”

Toahty said parents may have misunderstood information from the clinic about the risks of not getting another shot. If the vaccine wasn't effective, teens could be at risk for contracting meningitis or polio from their unvaccinated peers.

“The patients have nothing to worry about,” he said.