Maryland county to revaccinate children after they were administered expired doses

Maryland state health department officials announced that about 70 children in Prince George’s County will need to get revaccinated after they were mistakenly administered expired doses of the pediatric Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

The department said that the children, ages 5 to 11, do not face any negative health risks because of the error. However, the expired doses are less likely to protect them from the coronavirus, according to The Washington Post.

In November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officially recommended the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5-11. 

George L. Askew, deputy chief administrative officer for health, human services and education, told the Post the health department reached out to the CDC and Pfizer to determine how to proceed following the incident.

They reportedly came to the agreement to hold a special clinic in order to revaccinate all of the children who received the expired doses.

“It is nice when everyone is in agreement — and everyone was in agreement that receiving the expired vaccine was not going to be detrimental to the children’s health,” he said, according to the Post. “But everyone was also in agreement that it did not give all the protection and that children should get revaccinated.”

The mistake occurred on Nov. 26 at the Wayne K. Curry Sports and Learning Center in Landover. Children were given vaccine doses that had expired two days prior. The private clinics are set to be held for children who were affected on Dec. 5 and Dec. 11, according to the news outlet.

“We certainly regret this incident,” Askew reportedly said. “And we are really, really sorry for the inconvenience it causes our families.”