2-month-old baby dies after administering ​Pentavalent vaccine shot in Sircilla district

RAJANNA-SIRCILLA: In a shocking incident, a two-month-old baby girl died and three other babies were critical after being administered the Pentavalent vaccine at Yellaredypet Primary Health Centre (PHC) here on Wednesday. 

The three babies were shifted to hospitals in Karimnagar and Hyderabad and their condition is learnt to be stable on Thursday.   

A team of officials from the Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare office would visit the district on Friday to investigate the cause of death. The officials would investigate if any other vaccine was administered along with the Pentavalent vaccine if the vaccines were stored and transported in ideal conditions and other details.

Natives of  Korutlapeta village, Thada Bapu Reddy and Mahavi took their baby to Yellaredypet PHC for vaccination. However,  the baby developed complications after the vaccine was given.  The parents rushed her to a private hospital but were advised to shift her to a hospital in Karimnagar.

However, she died on her way to Karimnagar on Wednesday night. Three more babies also developed complications after being given the Pentavalent vaccine.  They were also rushed to a hospital in Karimnagar and one among them was later shifted to Hyderabad.

While the same vaccine was administered to 11 other babies on Thursday, four of them developed complications. District collector D Krishna Bhasker, who took a serious note of the incident, ordered a probe into the incident and suspended Yellareddypet PHC medical officer Dr V Meenakshi on Thursday for not following instructions of higher officials and not attending duties on Wednesday. He also directed the medical officer not to leave the mandal headquarters without prior information. The collector and promised stringent action against the officials responsible. He said of the two babies out of three were out of danger.