900 Southern Ocean Children May Have Received Improperly Refrigerated Vaccines

The state has filed a complaint with the state Board of Medical Examiners against a Manahawkin physician who may have vaccinated 900 children with improperly refrigerated vaccine, according to the state Department of Health.

The vaccines the children received include measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, hepatitis A & B, rotavirus, DTaP/Tdap, Hib, pneumococcal, polio, meningococcal and HPV, the health department said.

The children participated in the Vaccines for Children (VFC), a federally funded, state operated-program that provides free or low-cost vaccines to eligible low-income children at more than 1,000 medical offices throughout the state every year.

The state is mailing letters this week to families whose children were vaccinated at Southern Ocean Pediatrics and Family Medicine in Manahawkin, which is the medical office of Dr. Michael Bleiman. The Department suspended shipment of VFC vaccine to Dr. Bleiman on July 28, 2016, when problems with refrigeration temperatures were discovered.

The children who received the vaccine may have to be revaccinated due to the refrigeration problems, according to the state.

The complaint alleges gross negligence, professional misconduct and other violations by the practice, the state says.

Vaccines that have not been properly refrigerated under the recommendation of the manufacturer may be less effective. Children who receive these vaccines might not be fully protected against vaccine-preventable diseases, according to the guidelines of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Parents may want to discuss revaccination with a health care provider.

The VFC program determined that the temperature problems may have occurred as early as November 2014. The children who should be evaluated for revaccination were vaccinated between November 2014 and July 28, 2016, according to the health department.

The Department is working with the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners, the Medicaid Fraud Division in the Office of the State Comptroller; and the Medicaid program in the New Jersey Department of Human Services.

Families enrolled in Medicaid Managed Care Organizations should contact their health plan for assistance in providing an in-network provider. Parents or guardians of uninsured children can contact Federally Qualified Health Centers in the area, including the Center for Health Education, Medicine & Dentistry (CHEMED) in Lakewood and Ocean Health Initiatives in Lakewood.

Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, which is part of Hackensack Meridian Health, plans to set up a hotline to help families evaluate the need for revaccination.
Image:Vaccines for Children