Children at a detention center were given an adult dose of the hepatitis A vaccine

Hepatits vaccine
(Image credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)

About 250 children at a Texas detention center were administered adult dosages of the hepatitis A vaccine, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said. No adverse side effects have been reported, but the children are being monitored by healthcare professionals at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, the Los Angeles Times reports.

"Parents at the facility were advised and counseled by medical professionals about potential side effects, with services made available in multiple languages," ICE said in a statement. Hepatitis A is a serious liver disease that spreads to people who aren't vaccinated.

Activists and Democratic politicians have called on Homeland Security to close detention centers, which they say are not safe for children.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.