‘Flu Clinic’ Administers Wrong Shots To Employees

An Ontario, Canada company administered incorrect flu shots to a number of employees for a local company. The company hired the third-party entity to provide flu shots for employees, however, it seems the company fouled up the process.

APEX Occupational Health Solutions held a flu shot clinic Region of Waterloo Building employees between October 22 – 26. APEX gave two flu vaccines by mistake to employees.

The company gave both a FluZone Quadrivalent (4-strain) Influenza vaccine and a luZone Trivalent (3-strain). The luZone Trivalent is a highly potent flu shot formulated for 65 and older people.

Employees were notified by email on October 31 regarding the mistake, but the company realized the error on the 25th.

APEX says “not side effects are expected.” They claim they reached out to the vaccine maker, Sanofi Pasteur, who confirmed the more potent version is completely safe for people well under the age of 65.

That must be comforting.

Below is a copy of the letter:

You are being contacted because of your recent participation in the staff influenza immunization clinics. We have received information that the vaccine you received was given in error and although the risk to you is low, we wanted to ensure you were aware and had all the necessary information.

Staff were scheduled to receive the FluZone Quadrivalent (4-strain) Influenza vaccine that is licensed for those six months of age and older.   It was discovered that staff were instead provided the High-Dose FluZone Trivalent (3- strain) vaccine, which is licensed for those 65 years of age and older.  Both vaccines contain the same ingredients; however the difference is that the High-Dose FluZoneTrivalent contains higher doses of the 3 antigens to provide a larger immune response for those over 65 years who may not mount a response to the lower dose version which protects against 4 strains.   

The Vaccine Preventable Disease team has consulted with the vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur and there is no increased risk of severe side effects.  In a recent study, individuals who had the high-dose vaccine inadvertently were found to experience a higher rate of mild side effects, such as sore arm, redness at the site, and swelling at the site.  

We recommend that you monitor yourself for reactions to the influenza vaccine as outlined on the card provided by Apex at the time of vaccination.  The common side effects of the flu shot are soreness, redness or swelling where the shot was given. Serious side effects to flu vaccines are very rare.
For questions about the Vaccine clinics please contact Apex Occupational Health Solutions at, 519 896-3330.

For questions specifically about the flu vaccine, please contact the Vaccine Preventable Disease Program at 519-575-4400 x5003.