Dozens of Maryland children vaccinated with expired COVID-19 shots

Roughly 70 children in a suburban Washington, D.C., county have been vaccinated against COVID-19 with expired first or second doses.

Officials in Prince George's County said Thursday the error was the result of a storage issue, according to The Washington Post.

They also said the children, ages 5 to 11, face no health risks as a result of the error but that the doses of the Pfizer's pediatric vaccine they received are less likely to effectively protect them against the virus.

As a result, the county health department has scheduled a special clinic to revaccinate the children who got their shots Nov. 26 at a facility in the city of Landover named the Wayne K. Curry Sports and Learning Center.

The mistake was the result of a storage error that the county's vendor caught, George L. Askew, deputy chief administrative officer for health, human services, and education, told the newspaper.

He also said department officials consulted extensively with the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention, the Maryland state health department and Pfizer about how to proceed.

"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 in an interview. "But everyone was also in agreement that it did not give all the protection and that children should get revaccinated."