A shocking case has come to light, where around 12 toddlers were given hand sanitizers instead of polio drops in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district on Sunday.
All the affected children are below the age group of five, and were admitted to a government hospital stated a district official to the PTI. Their condition is now said to be stable.
This incident took place in Bhanbora Primary Health Care (PHC) in Kapsikopri village when the drive for National Pulse Polio vaccination for children from the age group of one to five was ongoing.
Shrikrishna Panchal CEO of the Yavatmal Zilla Parishad stated that 12 children who were below 5 years old were given two drops of hand sanitizer instead of polio doses. One of the children suffered uneasiness and vomiting, Panchal said to the PTI after a complete evaluation of the child’s condition on Monday.
All those kids who were given sanitizer doses were later administered polio drops and admitted to the Government Medical College in Yavatmal. Panchal added that now their condition is stable and they are under observation.
As a piece of preliminary information, three workers were present at the time of the PHC, one a doctor, an Anganwadi worker, and an Asha volunteer, when the incident happened.
Shrikrishna Panchal stated that: “An inquiry is underway and orders will be issues to suspend all the three healthcare workers,” as mentioned by the FirstPost.
This incident came to light when another official stated that the village sarpanch decided to check on that drop and discovered it to be hand sanitizers, instead of polio drops.
After this shocking incident, parents in the village are afraid and have demanded actions against the people responsible for such horrifying acts.
This incident happened on the Polio National Immunisation Day, which is generally observed on the 31st of January.
