WTOL.com, Toledo's News Leader, News 11 | Oregon boy gets H1N1 vaccine but shouldn't have

Oregon boy gets H1N1 vaccine but shouldn't have

By Colleen Wells - bio | email

Posted by Dave Dykema - email

OREGON, OH (WTOL) - One Oregon City Schools mom says her son was vaccinated at the district's H1N1 clinic despite her clear instructions against it.

"I definitely did not want him to have any vaccinations under these conditions," says Kimberly Lutheran, mother of a Starr Elementary student who received the shot Monday.

Lutheran says she gave specific instructions. Her husband emailed the principal saying they did not want their kids to be vaccinated. On the consent form, Kimberly circled and underlined the "do not vaccinate" portion.

So you can imagine her surprise when her son came home, vaccinated.

"He was confused because he kept saying I'm not supposed to get the shot,'" says Lutheran, "and no one would listen to him."

She says when he got home her son had a sore arm. Her husband questioned him, asking if he fell. He said he got a shot.

"I was livid! Not only was I scared, I didn't know what was going to happen to him."

Lutheran says her parental rights were violated, and her son's health was jeopardized because he has strange reactions to medications.

"I'm worried everyday," Lutheran says. "It just makes me want to vomit when I think about what could happen."

So how did it happen?

Larry Vasko with the Toledo-Lucas Co. Health Department says they're investigating.

"It's a real serious thing. We take this very serious. We put items in place to keep a person who did not want to be vaccinated from being vaccinated. And it happened," says Vasko. "We're very much looking into it, trying to make sure it never happens again."

If Lutheran could do it all over again, she says she would have kept her son home from school the day of the clinic.

"This never needs to happen again," Lutheran says. "He could have died."

News 11 spoke with the Superintendent of Oregon Schools, Dr. Mike Zalar. He says the district simply provided space for the clinic.

"While we regret an incident such as this took place in our school, we are confident this situation will be rectified. What happened was an isolated event, and should not impede the good work being done by the Toledo-Lucas Co. Health Department," says Zalar.

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