Fargo  (INFORUM)   Up to 45,000 Essentia patients are being notified that medication or vaccines they received might have been compromised by improper temperature storage by a wholesale drug distributor.

The vaccines and medications were given to patients seen at clinics, including Fargo, Jamestown and Valley City in North Dakota and including Moorhead, Detroit Lakes and Ada in Minnesota.

The problem was discovered in February, when Essentia took over management and storage of medications from a former distributor, Essentia spokeswoman Tara Ekren said Wednesday, April 8.

Roughly half of those who could be affected received the flu vaccine. Essentia has written to patients to inform them of the possibility that injectable medications or vaccines they received might have been rendered less effective by improper storage.

In North Dakota, health officials referred the matter to the state Board of Pharmacy. Mark Hardy, the pharmacy board’s executive director, says, “We are opening an investigation into the matter and talking to the parties involved.  Decisions about the appropriateness of revaccinating any patients will have to be made individually by the patients’ physicians.”

 Essentia says, “All of the patients who may have been affected by this issue are being contacted by Essentia Health to determine next steps for revaccination or treatment to ensure they are getting the full benefits of these treatments.”
According to an alert on Essentia’s website, a little more than 100 refrigerated injectable medications could have been compromised, but no “shelf stable” medications are at risk.