The toddler, identified as Iqra, received the vaccination on Monday, after a health worker approached her parents— Shahbudin (father) and Afsana (mother) at their residence. Shahbudin is an auto driver while Afsana works as a domestic help.
“A young woman came to our house and asked whether we had any new born baby in the house. When I informed her about my two-months-old daughter, she asked me to go to a dispensary (Centre for Health Research and Development) with her in Khanpur for free rotavirus vaccination”, recounted Afsana. She further added they, along with other parents who had come for vaccination were give a mobile phone to avail the facility.
“They gave us a Nokia phone, a blanket and Rs 500 in cash for getting the vaccination done”, she added.
Later, days after Iqra received the vaccination, she suffered from high fever and became inactive. On Friday morning, she began to cry and her parents noticed froth coming out from her mouth. “I informed the NGO who instructed me to collect stool sample of the girl. They then asked me us to see a local doctor. By the time, the NGO’s team reached our home, Iqra had already died”, the mother said. When this correspondent went to the NGO officer in Khanpur, they refused the allegations that their clinical trial was responsible for her death. “The trial was being conducted for past eight months. It was currently in phase III, which proved the process was secure and safe”, said RB Goyal, the office manager.
The body of the victim has been sent for a post-mortem at AIIMS with police saying they will “wait for the report before taking any action in the matter”.
“A young woman came to our house and asked whether we had any new born baby in the house. When I informed her about my two-months-old daughter, she asked me to go to a dispensary (Centre for Health Research and Development) with her in Khanpur for free rotavirus vaccination”, recounted Afsana. She further added they, along with other parents who had come for vaccination were give a mobile phone to avail the facility.
“They gave us a Nokia phone, a blanket and Rs 500 in cash for getting the vaccination done”, she added.
Later, days after Iqra received the vaccination, she suffered from high fever and became inactive. On Friday morning, she began to cry and her parents noticed froth coming out from her mouth. “I informed the NGO who instructed me to collect stool sample of the girl. They then asked me us to see a local doctor. By the time, the NGO’s team reached our home, Iqra had already died”, the mother said. When this correspondent went to the NGO officer in Khanpur, they refused the allegations that their clinical trial was responsible for her death. “The trial was being conducted for past eight months. It was currently in phase III, which proved the process was secure and safe”, said RB Goyal, the office manager.
The body of the victim has been sent for a post-mortem at AIIMS with police saying they will “wait for the report before taking any action in the matter”.