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Tests: Shots at Augsburg flu clinic were flu vaccine
by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio
December 10, 2004

The licensed nurse, Michelle Torgerson, has said she put on the $20-per-shot clinic using leftover flu vaccine from her employer to raise money for her daughter's school. She said she believes she had permission to hold the clinic. (MPR file photo)

Some students, faculty and staff who got unauthorized flu shots at Augsburg College a week ago are breathing a little bit easier. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says the substance they received was, indeed, flu vaccine. However, the FDA also found in some cases that vials were diluted with harmless saline.

St. Paul, Minn. — About three dozen people received flu shots last week from a nurse dressed in scrubs and a lab coat. Michelle Torgerson admitted to selling the shots for $20 each as a fundraiser. The incident put the Augsburg campus on edge this week. Students, faculty and staff said they were concerned that the unauthorized flu shots may have been tainted.

The Food and Drug Administration tested both full and empty vials that the Minneapolis Police Department confiscated from Torgerson.

	State epidemiologist Harry Hull

State epidemiologist Harry Hull says the tests show that the vials did not contain any toxic substances or adulterated material.

"The good thing on this is that everyone remains well. We would anticipate that nobody is going to be harmed by this event," he said.

Hull says the FDA concluded that some of the partially used vials were diluted with saline. It's a harmless substance that's often used to dilute some medications. But Hull says it shouldn't be used to dilute the flu vaccine. He says each flu vaccine bottle contains 10 doses of the vaccine and can be administered immediately.

"The concentration of the material in most of the empty vials, the concentration of the vaccine, would indicate that it was diluted with the normal saline, and again as Kris says, that is not normal procedure," according to Hull.

Hull says since some of the shots were diluted, all of those who received a shot from Torgerson at Augsburg last week are not effectively vaccinate.

The Health Department says it is now finished with its part of the investigation. It started last week after Torgerson gave flu shots on campus but left abruptly when questioned.

Torgerson is a licensed practical nurse who says she did nothing wrong. Her attorney says her employer, Maxim Health Services, told her to dispose of any unused vaccine after a clinic earlier last month. Robert Hajek says his client decided against throwing the vaccine away and sold it as a part of a school fundraiser.

Maxim Health Services disputes that claim and says it told Torgerson to return any unused vaccine. Hajek, says the FDA findings prove Torgerson did nothing wrong. He maintains that Torgerson did not tamper with the vaccine at all.

"Since my clients arrest she's been cooperating with police. She has not asserted any of her 5th Amendment rights. Since her arrest I have personally contacted the investigating officer and offered to do additional interviews with Michelle and up until this point nobody has asked to do additional interviews," he said.

But it isn't that simple. Minneapolis Police Captain Rich Stanek says they will continue the investigation, especially since some of the vials were diluted. He says they are meeting with the Health Department, the U.S. attorney's office and the Minnesota attorney general's office. Stanek says they're looking into how Torgerson obtained the vaccine, if she diluted it and how she gave it out.

"It will take a while to wind our way through. We had a number of victims to interview. Now that the FDA has come back with their piece of it, we will sit down with the attorneys to figure out where the investigation should go from here. They may give us some further direction in terms of what we should look for or investigate," Stanek says.

An attorney not involved in the investigation said anyone diluting drugs could face serious jail time. He pointed to a 1997 offense where a doctor tampered with the morphine supply of some intensive care patients at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park. The doctor received a six-year prison term. It's likely that Torgerson will also appear before the Minnesota Board of Nursing for actions. An official with the nursing board declined comment but several nursing professors say Torgerson could lose her license for violating several portions of the Minnesota Nurse Practice Act.

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