Officials: Flu shots here are real

Printed in the Daily News 
November 1 , 2005
Kelly Hawes

News that patients in two nearby cities were given a fake flu vaccine has Ramnik Patel concerned.

“We are worried, actually seeing the thing on television,” he said.  Patel, a 72-year-old Galveston resident, said he and his 71-year-old wife had gone to the University of Texas Medical Branch for flu shots last week.“I don’t know,” he said. “How can they tell? Are they sure what we got was real?”

Jennifer Reynolds-Sanchez, a communications specialist at UTMB, said the Patels could rest easy.“We buy all of our vaccinations straight from the manufacturer,” she said.

The individual dosages also come with metal rings to guard against tampering, she said, and every batch has a lot number. “We check those numbers with the numbers on the invoice to make sure they match,” she said.

Kurt Koopman, public information officer for the Galveston County Health District, said the district followed those same safeguards. “We’re quite confident in our supplies,” he said.

The health district gave nearly 200 shots at a senior health summit last week. It began administering flu shots in Galveston and La Marque on Monday.“It’s been busy at both locations,” Koopman said. “They’re not waiting outside the door or anything, but I understand it’s been steady all day.”He said companies and organizations interested in administering flu shots should be certain of who they were dealing with.

“They need to make sure the agency is licensed,” he said. “They should have good contact information, and they should make sure the agency provides a list of dosages and lot numbers before they leave.” The health district is always willing to help, he said.

“We do get contacted by many agencies throughout the community,” he said.

Iyad Abu El Hawa, 35, was arrested Thursday in what federal prosecutors labeled a scam to defraud Medicare. His company, Comfort & Caring Home Health, provided approximately 1,000 Exxon Mobil employees and 80 private contractors with shots full of what the Food and Drug Administration described as “some form of purified water.”

At a news conference last week, U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg called the crime callous and disturbing.“He purposefully put at risk many, many people,” Rosenberg said.

Investigators uncovered records showing that El Hawa also gave fake flu vaccines to 14 residents at a senior housing facility in La Porte. Authorities credited an unidentified nurse with blowing the whistle.

If convicted, El Hawa could face 10 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

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T.J. Aulds contributed to this report.

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Flu Vaccinations Are Available At The Following Locations:

• Health district headquarters, 1207 Oak St., La Marque, 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.

• Galveston Immunization Clinic, 4700 Broadway, Galveston, 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays.

The shots cost $20 for adults and $5 for children. They are free for patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

INFORMATION: Visit www.gchd.org or call (409) 938-2201.