Chennai, January 24: A two-year-old boy from Kancheepuram district died two hours after he was vaccinated for polio here on Sunday, causing tension among the residents of the area, who had also got their children immunised. Health authorities denied that the vaccination was the cause of death, attributing it to other medical reasons.
The boy, Joshua of Periyar Nagar in Padappai, was taken for vaccination at about 8 am at a balwadi in the area by his mother Dhanalakshmi. One of the family’s neighbours whom Express spoke to said the child lost consciousness within half an hour of getting home, following which he was taken to Sai Hospital, a private medical centre in the area, where he was declared “brought dead”.
The body was then taken to the Government Chromepet hospital for post-mortem.
When contacted, Dr K Vanaja, Joint Director, Immunisation, Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said that the child could have died due to asphyxiation.
“The child did not die due to the vaccination, it is because of other medical reasons. The child died only two hours after the administration of the drops,” she said.
She also claimed that the child could have died because, after he was immunised, he had consumed icecream from a local shop, a charge which the parents say is completely untrue, said their neighbour.
About 10 other children were also taken to the Government Hospital in Chromepet by parents who panicked on hearing about Joshua’s death.
–Agencies