Kids Should Receive Replacement Dose For Expired COVID Vaccine They Were Administered

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — The families of 70 children who, due to a vaccine storage error, received expired first or second doses of Pfizer's pediatric vaccine Nov. 26 should receive a replacement dose, officials say.

The kids ages 5 to 11 received the wrong dose at the county's Sports and Learning Complex. There is no health risk to the children who received the expired vaccine, but those doses are likely to be less effective at protecting against COVID-19 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Maryland Department of Health and Pfizer.

“We deeply regret the error and we apologize for the concern and inconvenience this has caused families,” Prince George's County Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Health, Human Services and Education Dr. George L. Askew said. “As a pediatrician, I want to assure parents that receiving an expired COVID-19 vaccine dose or receiving a replacement dose does not endanger your child’s health. An expired dose may not provide the maximum protection that these vaccines give and that’s why the county quickly made arrangements for each of these children to get re-vaccinated.”

The department will be offering special private clinics only for affected families at its Cheverly Health Center, 3003 Hospital Drive Cheverly, this Sunday and Saturday, Dec. 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Walk-ins and appointments will be accepted.

If families want to get re-vaccinated sooner, they can attend any of the regular clinics offered at select county elementary and high schools as well as at the Sports and Learning Complex.

On Nov. 19, the county health department received a transfer of 300 pediatric Pfizer doses from a provider that was unable to administer the doses before they expired Nov. 24. The vaccination vendor at the Sports and Learning Complex clinic, HealthCare Dynamics International, administered all but 70 of the transferred vaccine doses before the expiration date. However, the remaining 70 doses were not discarded, which is the proper protocol, and were mistakenly stored in the refrigerator with viable vaccine. On Nov. 26, the remaining doses that had expired were mistakenly placed on a tray with viable doses and were administered at the clinic that day.