March 15th, 2019: This story will continue to be updated as it develops.
Navy spouse and mother of one, Jena Cool, has never had any reason to doubt the competency of the doctors, nurses, or Corpsman at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton. However, after a recent incident involving vaccines and her young son, Makai, she is taking action against the hospital and those responsible.
Jena arrived at the Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton on Tuesday, March 5th, for her son’s well-baby checkup and required vaccines. At the well-baby checkup she received some difficult news about her son’s development and was given information on starting the Exceptional Family Member Program status. She then proceeded to the vaccination room where the Corpsman verified her son’s name and the vaccines that were to be given, which here dTap and Hep A boosters. The Corpsman said Makai was behind on vaccines which Jena disputed. After a 40 minute discussion between her doctor, the Corpsman, and herself, they proceeded with the appropriate vaccines.
Later that afternoon, Makai began feeling ill- his injection site was swollen, red, and he couldn’t stand without collapsing. Jena took him to the Emergency Room at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton and was released a few hours later with the thought that it was either a poor injection or an adverse reaction to the vaccine.
The next day, Makai was still not feeling well. Jena proceeded back to the ER where she learned Makai’s records stated he was a “no show” for the appointment. Since the pediatric department was now closed, she had to wait until the next day to visit in person. On Thursday, March 7th, Jena learned that imperative information was missing from Makai’s vaccine records such as the lot number of the vaccine and the administrator.
Over the next several days, Jena placed several phone calls and sent numerous emails which were not returned. Almost a week after the incident began, Jena finally received a call from the Department Head of Pediatrics at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton and learned that the Corpsman responsible, who has not been removed from his post, may have accidentally injected Makai with vaccines that were meant for a 15-month old patient (dTap and Hib, meaning Makai possibly had a double-dose of Hib).
Makai has had titers completed (bloodwork to show the level of vaccine in his blood) to see what vaccines he has been given, but even those may not give Jena and her family the complete answers.
You can read Jena’s full story here:
While double-doses of vaccines aren’t generally harmful to most children, the issue of concern for Jena and her family is the lack of safety and the negligence of the hospital staff at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton as her son’s vaccination records are not only missing information from his 18-month appointment but also previous vaccinations that Makai has received. Lack of proper record keeping by the Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton staff has put Makai at-risk, especially if it cannot be verified which vaccines he did in fact get if he is to have an adverse reaction to them.
What Can Parents Do
Parents should ask for a copy of their child’s vaccines after each immunization. Those records should be double-checked to ensure that they reflect the following information:
- Date
- Vaccine given
- Manufacturer and lot number of the vaccine
- Location of immunization shot
- The name of the person who administered the vaccine
In addition to proper record keeping, each Corpsman or nurse (LPN or LVN) should ask to verify the name and the birth date of the child who is being vaccinated as well as verify the vaccines that are to be given. THERE SHOULD BE NO OTHER VACCINES OUT AT THE SAME TIME.
What Training Do Corpsman Receive?
Naval Corpsmen “help to provide health care to Navy and Marine Corps members and their families,” as stated by the United States Department of the Navy. Most prospective Navy corpsmen first attend Navy recruit training at Great Lakes, Illinois. Navy hospital corpsman initial training is held at the Medical Education and Training Campus (METC) at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. All Navy corpsmen candidates then attend the joint Navy and Air Force Basic Medical Technician Corpsman (BMTC) program at METC. After graduation from BMTC, a new Navy corpsman might receive additional specialty training or go to his or her first Navy or Marine Corps unit.
What Can You Do if Your Child’s Vaccination Records are Incorrect or Your Child was Possibly Injected with the Wrong Vaccines?
The first thing parents should do if they suspect their child’s vaccination records are incomplete or wrong, or if you believe they were not properly immunized, is to contact your PCM as well as the department head at the hospital or clinic. You can also submit and ICE complaint as well as ask to speak to the Commanding Officer of the hospital. If your issue is still not resolved, you may take it up to the Garrison commander as well as your branch’s senior leadership or state Senator.
If you wish to pursue legal action against the hospital or the staff, visit your local JAG office to find out what options you have. Since it is a military facility, legal repercussions are not always the same as they would be in a civilian facility but medical doctors and nurses can have their medical licenses removed by the Board of Physicians or Board of Nursing if applicable.
As military families we put our trust and guidance into those who are put in place to focus on the health and well-being of our families, and we are often left feeling like we have no real action to take when something occurs. But by being proactive and a leader in your family’s health and safety, you can be one step closer to doing what you can to protect yourself.
WANT TO READ MORE?
Check out this article on When Your Birth Plan Changes: Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton
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He should lose his job and he should never be allowed to administer another vaccine
Double doses absolutely are harmful most times. This child could’ve been killed and he may suffer lifelong effects from this.
It’s sad you wrote an article about this! She’s been posting none stop on all Camp Pendleton websites since this happened. She has no proof they gave her son anything wrong. Several people even commented their child had the same reaction and 3 days later they were fine. This child has been fine. You can’t sue over a reaction. It’s normal to have a fever, swelling, pain at the injection site, all symptoms she has said he had.
She’s just a bored, scared housewife wanting attention. And she’s scaring other mom too.
The corpsmen is a human too, even if the child was double injected, which she DOESNT EVEN KNOW FOR A FACT. She’s just telling everyone he was, which she has absolutely no proof on!
in 2014 I received an injection for 225 lb male form the Naval Hospital and they did not document it I fell critically-ill the next day after the shot I was pulled from class and got a “counter shoot ” i started developing neuropathy damage through my whole body and it was unexplained I was so sick they had to contact my MOS school to let them know what happened shortly after the documentation went missing luckily I kept my own documentation and argued for the next 3 years .this isn’t the first time this has happened to people experimental shots are real I do not recommend Naval medicine to anyone the military still refuses to accept what happened to me was their fault. I was also removed off the medical separation board because it would have opened up an investigation even though I reported it multiple times it was covered up every time
She doesn’t know or have proof that he was!
The department head is the one that called to tell me my son was given the wrong vaccines. She then called a little while later saying she has no idea what was given to him. I’m not suing over the reaction. If you read everything you would be more educated on this matter. You’re also clearly not a lawyer and do not know what kind of case I have. This investigation has gone all the way up the channels of the medical Inspector General to the point that bumed is now involved. Clearly you don’t see how serious the situation is because they do not get involved over any little thing. You can think whatever you want but I am not a bored housewife. I have a career and I’m not doing this out of boredom. It’s to protect other children because some kids are on a very different vaccination schedule. Some kids can die or be injured from vaccines because of health issues. This is to protect other children because other children could’ve reacted far worse. Ive also had doctors outside NHCP confirm my sons reaction was not normal. It’s not normal to collapse and not be able to walk for hours. You’re clearly not a mother and if you are then it’s sad you can’t see how dangerous this is and how much worse it could’ve been for more medically fragile children. My son also has seizures so vaccines in general are dangerous for him. Let alone being over vaccinated. I encourage you to educate yourself next time before posting something so rude and ignorant
The department head is the one that called to tell me my son was given the wrong vaccines. She then called a little while later saying she has no idea what was given to him. I’m not suing over the reaction. If you read everything you would be more educated on this matter. You’re also clearly not a lawyer and do not know what kind of case I have. This investigation has gone all the way up the channels of the medical Inspector General to the point that bumed is now involved. Clearly you don’t see how serious the situation is because they do not get involved over any little thing. You can think whatever you want but I am not a bored housewife. I have a career and I’m not doing this out of boredom. It’s to protect other children because some kids are on a very different vaccination schedule. Some kids can die or be injured from vaccines because of health issues. This is to protect other children because other children could’ve reacted far worse. Ive also had doctors outside NHCP confirm my sons reaction was not normal. It’s not normal to collapse and not be able to walk for hours. You’re clearly not a mother and if you are then it’s sad you can’t see how dangerous this is and how much worse it could’ve been for more medically fragile children. My son also has seizures so vaccines in general are dangerous for him. Let alone being over vaccinated. I encourage you to educate yourself next time before posting something so rude and ignorant
I’m not sure why you keep freaking out. Only facts have ever been stated and blood titers will give us for sure answers hopefully once they come back. It’s not a coincidence my son never had a reaction to a vaccine and then this craziness happens and he collapsed and couldn’t walk. He had issues walking for a week. So stop posting as if you know what my son has gone through. And doctors outside NHCP have confirmed that’s not a normal reaction and even doctors at NHCP said the collapsing and unable to walk and climb up and down stairs isn’t normal.
I wasn’t aware you were involved in this investigation. You have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m not sure why you keep freaking out. Only facts have ever been stated and blood titers will give us for sure answers hopefully once they come back. It’s not a coincidence my son never had a reaction to a vaccine and then this craziness happens and he collapsed and couldn’t walk. He had issues walking for a week. So stop posting as if you know what my son has gone through. And doctors outside NHCP have confirmed that’s not a normal reaction and even doctors at NHCP said the collapsing and unable to walk and climb up and down stairs isn’t normal.
Yes, but the lack of records implies a cover-up. While there is no good excuse for this sort of errors – there have long been in place control procedures to prevent it, the lack of records shows guilt and gross negligence. People need to be held responsible. I recall the cover-up about the woman who good an epidural needle stuck in her spine – that was also a navy hospital. When people aren’t held responsible for their mistakes every. single. time. the mistakes only get bigger. He screwed up, he tried to cover it up, he put someone else’s health at risk for his own. He deserves severe punishment.
This same thing happened to us!! I took my daughter in to get her vaccinations in January of 2018. After waiting for the usual extended length of time she received her shots, but their “computers were down” so they couldn’t enter the shots in to the computer to give me an updated printout. I had the corpsman write down which vaccines he had given her so that I would be able to follow up the next time we were at the hospital. He said he would enter them as soon as the computers came back up. On our next visit, I was scolded for not having her vaccines up to date. I argued this because even though we were a little behind on the month they were given, she had completed all of her vaccines within an acceptable timeframe. I asked to see the records. The vaccines from that day had not been entered but our visit showed up as either cancelled or no show (I can’t remember which now). I still had the paper that he had written which shots were given, but he claimed that even though it was his handwriting, he didn’t do what I was claiming. We had to have titers drawn to verify that she had received the vaccines since I refused to let them give her the shots that she had already received without a fight to prove that they were in the wrong. The head of the department at the time called me to apologize and let me know that her titers did, in fact, come back as positive for having received the vaccines and he would note it in her records. I promise that I am not the only one that has shared this part of the experience with you and I am sorry that you are having to go through it!