Authorities discovered during an annual state compliance audit for the Shots for Tots program that a Salem County, N.J. clinic for uninsured kids gave expired shots and wrong vaccines to at least five children.
The audit revealed that one of the children, a two-year-old boy, was given an excessive dose of Gardasil, USA Today reports.
Gardasil, a vaccine used to prevent cervical cancer, is typically given to teenagers to help them avoid HPV infection. Authorities are concerned that the two-year-old boy who was administered Gardasil may suffer from neurological effects.
"Certainly the child is going to be in our prayers and I hope your viewers put the child in their prayers in the context of passing this test," Michael Mulligan of the Salem County Counsel said. "Hopefully, there may not be a negative side effect," he added, according to The Inquisitr.
The audit also revealed that a one-year-old child was given the flu mist dose, which should not be given to children below two years old because it might cause breathing difficulties, The Inquisitr reports.
Authorities said that two children were given expired vaccines. Another child was given the wrong vaccine, but authorities are still identifying which vaccine was administered, Fox News reports.
Records showed that the five children were brought to the clinic between October 2014 and June 2015. So far, none of them showed negative effects on their health.
Mandy Cassidy, the nurse that administered Gardasil, was fired from the clinic. The nurse claimed that she had already resigned before the state audit was conducted and that Salem County was just putting the blame on her. Cassidy also said nurses in Salem County should get better training, according to The Inquisitr.
"If errors occur, errors occur. And you got to step up to the plate, and you have to make sure somebody's not harmed further," Mulligan said.
Aside from the immunization errors, officials also found out that $20,000 worth of vaccines were improperly stored when a refrigerator failed and had to be thrown away.
Officials said Salem County will shoulder the costs for monitoring the improperly immunized children's conditions. The clinic has been shut down, according to Fox News.
