Hartford HealthCare Medical Group is recommending that 953 patients who received some vaccines and tuberculosis tests at its health centers get new treatments after some vaccines and tests may have been stored at improper temperatures.
Although this causes no harm to patients, temperature fluctuations may reduce the effectiveness of the vaccines, Hartford HealthCare said. Hartford HealthCare is contacting the affected patients, representing about 1 percent of vaccines given by the medical group.
The temperature fluctuations were found when Hartford HealthCare recently audited its locations that provide vaccinations. These patients received flu, tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis, pneumococcal, hepatitis B, and meningococcal vaccines at the Plainville, Vernon, Colchester, Norwichtown and Duncaster locations. The tuberculosis testing was done at the Montville, Wallingford, Norwich-West Side, Manchester and Meriden sites.
In response to the incident, Hartford HealthCare has taken steps that include: on-site re-education of staff at all locations, daily temperature log recording and reporting, monthly review of temperature logs, periodic on-site vaccine storage audits, ongoing standardization and placement of digital temperature data recorders at all sites without them, and researching new technology for central monitoring system with real-time alerts for all sites.
