PUEBLO — The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has declared vaccines given at Pueblo-based VitalPoint Urgent Care invalid, meaning patients may have to be re-vaccinated.
According to CDPHE, during an unannounced site inspection, the state identified a number of irregularities in vaccine storage and handling, high vaccine wastage, issues with required reporting, and inappropriate vaccine administration to individuals outside of the recommended age group.
News 5 reached out to the clinic, they replied with "no comment."
In a press release, CPDHE listed the ways VitalPoint Urgent Care violated the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program Provider Agreement:
- Failure to store and handle COVID-19 vaccines in compliance with the CDC Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit.
- Failure to document and report required vaccine administration information.
- Failure to maintain onsite documentation of the storage and administration of COVID-19 vaccine.
- Inappropriate administration of a vaccine to individuals outside of the recommended age group.
- Failure to report records to the Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS) within 72 hours of vaccine administration.
- Failure to provide an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) fact sheet to each vaccine recipient prior to vaccination.
- Failure to report temperature excursions, contact manufacturer and quarantine vaccine.
- Failure to report COVID-19 vaccine wastage.
- Failure to report vaccine administration errors to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
The press release went on to say: "Because of these violations, any vaccine doses administered at VitalPoint Urgent Care are considered invalid and patients will need to be revaccinated. Records show 98 patients received vaccinations at the site, and those with contact information in their vaccine record will be contacted directly by CDPHE with guidance."
They went on to say that they recommend that patients who were vaccinated at VitalPoint Urgent Care should repeat at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine immediately, regardless of the total number of doses received at the clinic.
They also recommend that those who got the vaccine who were younger than the required minimum age should receive one dose of the Pfizer vaccine. The FDA gave emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine to be given to children 5 years old and up.
For people who received one dose at VitalPoint Urgent Care:
- If individuals received one dose of Moderna vaccine at VitalPoint Urgent Care, that dose is considered invalid and they should receive two additional doses of Moderna vaccine. They should get an additional dose of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine immediately and a final dose of Moderna 28 days later (e.g., 28 days after your repeated valid dose).
- If individuals received one dose of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine at VitalPoint Urgent Care, that dose is considered invalid and they should receive one additional dose of J&J vaccine immediately.
For people who received two doses at VitalPoint Urgent Care:
- If individuals received two doses of Moderna vaccine at VitalPoint Urgent Care, those doses are considered invalid and they should receive one additional dose of Moderna vaccine immediately.
- Following receipt of a single repeat dose, these individuals will be considered fully vaccinated.
Individuals who need an additional vaccine can use this full list of providers online to locate a new provider to schedule their vaccination or by calling the CDPHE's 24-hour call center at 1-877-CO VAX CO (1-877-268-2926).
If patients witness what they believe to be unsafe or unethical vaccination practices, CDPHE encourages them to file a complaint using an online complaint form.
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