Staff workers at a health sub-centre in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district allegedly administered sanitiser instead of polio drops to 12 children below the age of five, in a case of shocking negligence.
Chief Executive Officer of Yavatmal Zilla Parishad Shrikrishna Panchal informed that all children have been admitted to the Government Medical College in Yavatmal under observation, where their condition is stable, news agency PTI reported.
The incident at the healthcare centre in a village was reported on Sunday, 31 January, when the National Pulse Polio vaccination drive for children between the ages of 1-5 began, PTI quoted an official as saying.
While speaking to The Indian Express, Chief Executive Officer of Yavatmal Zilla Parishad Krishna Panchal said that the drops were administered at Kapsi sub-centre of Bhambora public health centre (PHC) in Ghatanji tehsil.
“The three staffers there, community health officer, ASHA worker and anganwadi sevika, realised around 2 pm that the children were administered sanitiser instead of polio drops,” he added.
Speaking on the condition of the children, he said, “Only one child was vomiting. But even polio drops can cause that. But that’s not the issue. It’s about the staff’s negligence,” adding that “this should not have happened because polio drops are in a bottle labelled with a vaccine viral monitor, which shows a particular colour indicative of appropriate temperature being maintained,” The Indian Express quoted.
Panchal also informed that an inquiry has been initiated, and action will be taken against the staffers responsible.
(With inputs from PTI and The Indian Express)
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