UP: Locals slam 'poisonous vaccine'

The Uttar Pradesh government has not named any person in the FIR lodged in connection with the deaths of four infants after a routine immunisation drive on the outskirts of Lucknow on Saturday.

"The family welfare department has chosen to file an unnamed FIR," said Lucknow Deputy Inspector General of Police Rajiv Krishna

The state government has already suspended at least half a dozen officials of the health and family welfare departments. These include a medical officer and the paramedical staff who were carrying out the routine vaccination against measles, TB and vitamin A deficiency in Mohanlalganj area on the outskirts of Lucknow.

A central team led by Deputy Commissioner (Immunisation) Dr Ajay Khera had ruled out the possibility of expired vaccines being the reason behind the deaths. "There is no question of the use of expired vaccines as we have checked the inventories as well as the vials used on the victims," he pointed out.

Though he said that disruption in the cold chain could have contaminated the vaccines, Khera added, "It would be extremely rare that such contamination could cause death".

"We will not be in a position to arrive at any conclusion until we get an analysis report of the used vaccine samples," he said. The samples have been sent to the central laboratory in Himachal Pradesh.

The post-mortem report submitted to the administration on Sunday evening has also failed to indicate the specific cause of death.

"Since the quantity of vaccine that goes into the system is barely 0.5 ml , the post-mortem report was also inconclusive," said Chief Medical Officer Dr A K Shukla.

While the immunisation drive was suspended within hours of the death of the four infants, locals have become apprehensive about the 'zehreela teeeka' (poisonous vaccine).

Family members of the deceased children were still coming to terms with their loss.

"They gave her some poisonous vaccine, otherwise how could my daughter just collapse within minutes of receiving the dose," Kanta, the young mother of a nine-month old victim Rekha told rediff.com

"I had only two daughters and now I am left with one," she said.

"My child fell unconscious shortly after she was vaccinated, but there was no doctor present at the immunisation camp. The medical officer administering the vaccine made a phone call to the doctor, who took more than an hour to arrive, only to declare her dead", said the tearful mother.

Her neighbour Shiv Kanti, the hapless mother of another victim, 10-month old Sahil, wept inconsolably. "Sahil was my only son. Now where will I get a son from," she asked.

Sahil's grandfather Maiku Lal, who is known for motivating illiterate villagers to take their children for immunization camps, has now turned firmly against any kind of vaccination.  "How can you gamble with the lives of your children? I will never urge anyone to take their child for immunisation now," he remarked.

Mothers whose children were safe even after receiving their respective doses have sworn off any kind of vaccination.

"Nothing has happened to my two-month old child who was given polio drops and BCG vaccination. But who knows when it will turn into a killer? So I am not going to take the risk in future," said Roshni, a local resident.