Patients vaccinated at Dodges Ferry Medical between July 2003 and March 2023 are being contacted by the Health Department, after it was discovered that the clinic may not have been storing vaccines as per the National Guidelines.
The doses may have been exposed to temperatures that were too hot or too cold, which can reduce their effectiveness in preventing disease.
Director of Public Health, Dr Mark Veitch says there is no risk of harm to anybody who has received an incorrectly stored vaccine.
“It is not possible to determine whether vaccines administered at the clinic were effective or ineffective. Out of an abundance of caution, we are recommending people who received vaccines at the clinic to seek advice and consider having those vaccine doses repeated,” said Dr Veitch.
The affected vaccines are from the National Immunisation Program. This includes routine government-funded childhood vaccines as well as some government-funded vaccines routinely given to teenagers, adults and pregnant women.
If you think you may have been affected, but haven’t received a letter, you can contact the Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738.
