12 Children Given Hand Sanitizer Instead of Polio Drops
On Sunday 31st January, some of the kids were given oral drops of sanitizers instead of the polio drops at a Primary Health Centre in Ghatanji's Kapsi-Kopari village. After preliminary investigation,
On Saturday 30th January 2021, President R. N. Kovind launched the National Polio Immunization Drive 2021 by administering polio drops to children less than five years old at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Then on 31s January which is National Polio Immunization Day an incident happened in Maharshtra’s Yavatmal. On 31st January, over 2,000 small children aged 1-5 years had gathered along with their parents at a Primary Health Centre in Ghatanji's Kapsi-Kopari village for polio vaccination. According to officials,12 kids were given oral drops of sanitizers instead of the polio drops. After that many of the children complained of nausea, cramps and started vomiting. This created panic among the parents and health officials there. All the children, aged between 1-5 years, were rushed to the Vasantrao Naik Government Medical College & Hospital for treatment. VNGMCH Dean Dr Milind Kamble said, “All the children are now stable and improving. They are being kept under constant observation. Depending on their condition, we shall consider discharging them on Tuesday evening."
He was asked about the possible repercussions of oral intake of hand-sanitizing liquids. He said that though it is not fatal, it contains around 70 percent alcohol which may create health complications, especially among children. Yavatmal Collector M. Devender Singh visited the hospital on Sunday night and ordered the Zilla Parishad CEO Shrikrishna Panchal to visit the village and after his preliminary probe, three nurses on duty at the time have been suspended.
Panchal said that the nurses mistook bottles of sanitisers placed nearby to be the vaccine drops and administered them to the kids. Three other health workers are under the scanner for the lapse. Farmers leader from Yavatmal Kishore Tiwari suspects it could be "deliberate sabotage" and they plan to visit the village on 2nd Jan for assessment.
