Hospital’s broken fridge spoils flu vaccine
Hospital Safety Connection, November 4, 2004
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West Allis (WI) Memorial Hospital lost nearly 1,900 flu vaccine doses when a refrigerator broke down, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
Officials expect to lose a second batch of the vaccine in a month. Hospital staff members, doctors, and 300 patients received the egg-based vaccine, which spoiled in the fridge. As a result, the hospital discarded 850 doses because of lost effectiveness, Scott Thompson, vice president of medical operations with Aurora Health Care, owners of West Allis, told the AP.
People who received the shots will need to receive another vaccine, he said.
"I want to emphasize that the question here is the effectiveness of the vaccines, not their safety," Thompson said, adding a second vaccination posed no threat either.
The refrigerator also had other vaccines, such as those for rabies, pneumonia, rubella, and mumps. Anyone who received those also will be revaccinated, he said.
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