Out of date flu vaccine

[user110392]

Hi

I had got my flu vaccine last week at 18 weeks pregnant. My doctor has rang me today to say the vaccine I received was out of date . The doctor couldn't tell me how far out of date the vaccine was. And that it only means the vaccine is not as effective and will not harm me or the baby. Has this happened to anyone else?

Every year a new batch of flu vaccines are made and at the end of the flu season in April the old ones must be discarded. The dates on the news ones are ALWAYS May or June of that year. Therefore, if you really were given an out of date one it would of been last years flu vaccine, not this year, therefore you won’t be protected at all from the flu.

Is this is really true then I would be filing a complaint. If this happened at my pharmacy this would be classed as a high risk mistake and I would have to file a report.

The doctor most definitely could have told you how out of date it was as we all follow the same protocols when giving vaccines, the batch number and expiry date is always written down. Otherwise, how would they have known it was out of date at all?

It’s not going to harm you no, but it’s not going to protect from this seasons flu.