1,800 children need to be re-immunized after vaccination error in Easley, Powdersville

Some 1,800 children who are patients at two Upstate pediatrics practices need to be re-immunized against some common childhood illnesses because they may not have gotten the full dose at their well-child visits.

The families, who were notified this week, are patients at Pediatric Associates-Easley and Pediatric Associates-Powdersville, which are part of Greenville Health System, hospital officials said.

The children involved are from 2 months to teenagers, said Dr. Robin LaCroix, medical director of GHS's Children's Hospital.

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And the problem encompasses a variety of vaccines because children get different ones at different ages, she said. 

The cause was determined to be human error, she said, and was discovered through checks that are built into the children’s vaccination program.

“There are certain things you have to monitor, such as temperature of the vaccines,” she said. “And as part of that normal monitoring, we identified a problem.”

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Some vaccines are distributed in unit doses while others are multi-dose, she said. 

“Our concern was that perhaps the full dose was not administered,” she said.

While details of the employee were not released, LaCroix said vaccines are typically given by people with certifications on the nursing side. The 1,800 children identified were all vaccinated by that employee, but not all are believed to have gotten inadequate doses, she said.

GHS reported the incident to the state, and the employee who provided the immunizations is no longer with the practice, officials said.

Just how the error happened is part of the ongoing investigation, she said.

“We’ve had to err on the side of caution and to look at each of the children who were potentially impacted individually and determine if they need vaccination,” she said. “To be completely cautious, we encompassed a big window of time to make sure the children are protected.”

Free re-immunizations are being offered to families of affected children during regular office hours and during special after-hours and weekend clinics during the first two weeks of December, though that may be extended to accommodate everyone.   

“We’re committed to taking whatever extra steps are necessary to ensure children who could have potentially been under-immunized receive the correct immunization dosing as quickly as possible,” LaCroix said.

“We apologize for any worry we’ve caused and for the inconvenience of re-immunizing their children," she added. 

LaCroix said that re-immunization is safe, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends repeat immunizations in situations where immunization cannot be confirmed.

The 1,800 children represent about 14 percent of patients at the two locations, officials said.

GHS is not aware of any of the potentially impacted children developing illnesses as a result of not receiving full doses of immunizations, LaCroix said.

Families wanting to schedule re-immunizations or ask questions should call 864-855-0001.