Local

Mother says Walgreens gave her children adult-strength flu shots

ROSWELL, Ga. — A north Fulton County mother is outraged after a local pharmacy admitted they gave her kids a flu shot not FDA-approved for children.
 
Heidi Sullivan says her two children received a flu shot in December at the Walgreens on West Crossville Road in Roswell. 
 
On Thursday, Sullivan said a representative from Walgreens called her to tell her about the apparent mix-up.
 
"They stuck a needle in each of my kids' arms and gave them a drug that they should be responsible for knowing how to use properly," Sullivan told Channel 2's Rachel Stockman.
 
She learned the flu shot her 13-year-old and 16-year-old received was Flucelvax, a drug only approved by the Food and Drug Administration for those 18 and older. 
 
Her children are not the only ones in the Atlanta metro area potentially affected.
 
In a statement emailed to Channel 2 Action News, Jim Crohn, a spokesperson for Walgreens said:

"As part of the regular monitoring of our vaccine program, we recently learned that a very small percentage of vaccinations may have been administered to patients outside of FDA-approved age ranges. 
 
"As a precautionary measure, we have already contacted all affected patients, along with their physicians where such information was available, and also apologized for this occurrence.  We will continue to take proactive steps to help ensure the highest levels of quality care for our program."
 

"How many other people are affected by this because Walgreens is a huge company?" Sullivan said.
 
Walgreens would not say how many children or what stores in the metro Atlanta area were affected by this apparent mistake.
 
"They are being so nonspecific about what side effects could be possible. I think it is pretty bad, it is pretty serious," Sullivan said.
 
It is not clear what the side effects are for children because the approved FDA tests were done on adults.
 
The most common side effect for adults includes headache, discomfort and fatigue.