Florida kindergartener mistakenly given flu shot at school: 'I was literally in shock,' mom says
FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. - A Florida mom claims her daughter was mistakenly given the flu shot at school, despite not giving the school permission to do so.
The Flagler County School District confirmed the incident took place and that is investigating what happened.
"When I first heard about it, I was literally in shock," said Ashley Warren. "This is not right. Yes, it was a mistake, but this is not right, and I don’t want it to happen again."
The district sent a letter home to parents letting them know that flu shots were available, but that it was voluntary and required parental consent. It also said that the school needed a signed consent form on file and that the child would have to sit willingly for the vaccination if they chose to.
Warren said she chose not to let her daughter get the flu shot and did not fill out a form. She's now in the process of pulling her daughter out of the district.
"She came home with a Band-Aid," recalled Warren. "But I just thought it was like a boo-boo because she didn't really say much about it. And I didn't I didn't opt in for the shot, so I didn't think much about it."
Six days later, the school's principal called her and left a voicemail.
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"Good afternoon, Mrs. Warren. This is Amy Neuenfeldt from Wadsworth Elementary School. If you could just give me a callback," the voicemail recording says.
Warren said she called back and was told how the mistake happened. She said she was told that there was another girl at the school with the same name, and that child's parents had signed their daughter up for the shot.
Warren’s daughter’s medical records with Wadsworth Elementary School, reviewed by FOX 35 News, show that she did receive a shot from the Flagler County Health Department on September 28.
"Mind-blowing," said Warren. "She’s five. So she’s not going to know any better, that, ‘I shouldn’t be getting this.’"
In a statement, Flagler County Schools said it was aware of the incident and quickly contacted the child's parents as soon as it was discovered.
"Flagler Schools is aware of this incident. School officials contacted the student’s parents as soon as it was discovered. We take precautions to ensure mistakes like this do not happen," the statement read.
Warren wants to make sure such a mix-up doesn't happen again.
"I’m hoping that maybe if I’m a squeaky wheel, that it’ll never happen again to any other parent, and that I could possibly prevent somebody getting really harmed," she said.
The district also said it's trying to figure out where the communication breakdown happened, so they can know what other safeguards need to be put in place to avoid it happening again.
"We are committed to enhancing the safeguards, where needed, and are dedicated to ensuring the highest standards of care and safety for our students. Flagler Schools wants to continue to offer services like this to our families, but only if we can ensure they are done in a safe manner," the statement read.