COIMBATORE: A 2.5-month-old boy died at Masakalipalayam in Coimbatore hardly two hours after being administered pentavalent vaccine on Wednesday.
While the family said the child had fallen sick because of the vaccine, corporation and health department officials said the cause of death would be known only after postmortem.
Officials said the same batch of vaccine had been administered to 13 other children at the same centre on the same day and were alright. The same batch was also used in other centres in the districts, according to them. They were planning to send the vaccine vial for testing to a centre, recommended by the Tamil Nadu government.
In her police complaint, child’s mother Vijayalakshmi, 24, of Subbana Street said she took him to an anganwadi in Masakalipalayam at 10.30am. “The vaccination was done by a nurse at the anganwadi. But when we returned home, the child kept crying and refused to be breastfed, after which I administered four drops of a syrup given to me at the anganwadi,” said the complaint.
“However, two hours later, my son developed a severe breathing problem. We rushed him to Uppilipalayam public health centre where they said he was critical. They referred him to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, where doctors said he was already dead,” she stated. The child also had had bronchitis for the last one week, said the complaint.
City health officer S Raja said this was the child’s booster shot. “The child had been administered the same vaccine at the same centre one month ago and was fine. The reason for the death will be known only after the postmortem report arrives,” he said.
Deputy director of public health Dr G Ramesh Kumar said the same batch of vaccine had been administered to several children in the district. “We have not received any complaints so far,” he said.