PATIENTS from a Dales surgery have been warned they may need additional vaccinations after doctors discovered some serums had not been stored at the correct temperature.
More than 200 patients from the Central Dales Practice, in Aysgarth, North Yorkshire, are thought to be affected by the mix-up and letters have been sent out to alert them.
Anyone who had a jab between September 20 and March 13 for whooping cough or as a precaution before travelling abroad, is urged to contact their GP for advice on what they need to do.
Dr Phil Kirby, public health director for Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Health Care Trust, said: "We know people being contacted by the surgery may be anxious. We would reassure them the risk of the vaccines being ineffective is probably quite low.
"However, we cannot guarantee these vaccinations will have provided full protection so we agree with the practice that patients need to be aware of the situation and be given the chance to discuss re-immunisation.''
The practice has issued an apology to patients for any inconvenience.
A spokesman for the health trust said: "We have audited the entire trust area, so we know this problem is confined to Aysgarth. The people involved could well be okay - this is just a precaution."
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