5-Day-old Kerala infant given 5 vaccines instead of one, admitted to ICU

Mangalore Today News Network

Palakkad, Aug 18, 2023: A five-day-old newborn baby was wrongly administered five vaccines, instead of one, by a nurse at a Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Kerala’s Palakkad district. The child has been admitted to the District Hospital after the vaccine overdose.

 

The incident took place on Wednesday when the parents took their child to the PHC Pirayiri to get the Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine for tuberculosis, local media reported.

In addition to BCG, the child was given the Pentavalent Vaccine (for five life-threatening diseases), the Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine (IPV), Pneumococcal Vaccines (PCV), Oral Poliovirus Vaccines (OPV), and the Rotavirus vaccine.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The parents, Nadirsha and Sibina, reached the PHC with their five-day-old infant to get the BCG vaccine. They consulted the doctor first and then proceeded to the vaccine booth with a prescription. According to their complaint, when they informed the duty nurse, Charulatha, that they had come to receive the BCG vaccine, the nurse responded rudely.

The BCG vaccine was administered via an injection into the left upper arm of the child. Along with this, the nurse reportedly injected two more vaccines into the thighs and also fed the baby two oral vaccines.

Noticing this, the parents went to the doctor, and highlighted the issue.

NURSE SUSPENDED

Following the parents’ complaint, authorities suspended the nurse who administered the vaccines. The District Medical Officer has initiated an investigation into the incident.

The child, who got a fever after the vaccination, is under observation in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Palakkad District Hospital.

Courtesy: India Today