“A mother has told how her 3-year-old daughter pricked her finger in a container of used flu vaccine syringes at a pharmacy
“Her ring finger on her left hand was poked. It was bleeding, and she did have a mark,” said Maria.
On Tuesday, Maria went to the Super Target in Fort Collins to fill a prescription for her daughter’s strep throat. She told 7NEWS when she was called to the counter to pick up her prescription, she walked three feet away from her daughter.
“They had a sharps container on the counter. Then she stood up on the chair. She told me she stuck her hand in there,” said Maria.
Maria said when she finally understood what her daughter meant, she immediately reported what happened to Target employees.
Maria filled out an incident report at the store then called her pediatrician. She was told to go to Children’s Hospital in Aurora so her daughter could have her blood tested and be given preventative HIV medication.
“Three actual anti-virals and one to help her with the nauseousness. They’re hard on the body and they’re not well tolerated,” said Maria. “My biggest concern is my daughter’s health, that she was exposed to something very hazardous that should not have been there.”
Her daughter has to take the preventative HIV medication for 28 days. Her blood will have to be tested for a full year to check for diseases like HIV and hepatitis.
On Tuesday, Maria went to the Super Target in Fort Collins to fill a prescription for her daughter’s strep throat. She told 7NEWS when she was called to the counter to pick up her prescription, she walked three feet away from her daughter.
“They had a sharps container on the counter. Then she stood up on the chair. She told me she stuck her hand in there,” said Maria.
Maria said when she finally understood what her daughter meant, she immediately reported what happened to Target employees.
Maria filled out an incident report at the store then called her pediatrician. She was told to go to Children’s Hospital in Aurora so her daughter could have her blood tested and be given preventative HIV medication.
“Three actual anti-virals and one to help her with the nauseousness. They’re hard on the body and they’re not well tolerated,” said Maria. “My biggest concern is my daughter’s health, that she was exposed to something very hazardous that should not have been there.”
Her daughter has to take the preventative HIV medication for 28 days. Her blood will have to be tested for a full year to check for diseases like HIV and hepatitis.
“Her ring finger on her left hand was poked. It was bleeding, and she did have a mark,” said Maria.http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/26270920/detail.html
A whole year of anguish for the child and her parents, though an inoculation injury from a needle used for flu vaccination is unlikely to carry a high probability of transmission, though infection is not impossible.
We wish the child and her family well, and hope the year passes quickly and without incident. Though the child’s health is bar far the most important, no doubt the time will be spent in pursuing a legal case for damages. Those damages should go far beyond a claim for a minor injury to the finger, a few blood tests and the need for antiviral and other treatments. Post-exposure treatment can be particularly unpleasant, with the added pain and distress of successive blood tests, and the hugely anxiety and post-traumatic stress for the child and her parents.
Nothing should trivialise the impact of a sharps injury.