51 samples of pentavac sent to CRI

CHANDIGARH: The UT Drug Controller today seized and sent 51 samples of pentavac vaccine for analysis to the Central Research Institute in Kasauli, a day after banning its sale in the city in view of a two-month-old baby’s death in Mani Majra within hours of being administered the vaccine.

(From right) The two-month-old baby’s father Rakesh, mother Anju Bala and grandmother mourn his death at their residence in Mani Majra. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 27

The UT Drug Controller today seized and sent 51 samples of pentavac vaccine for analysis to the Central Research Institute in Kasauli, a day after banning its sale in the city in view of a two-month-old baby’s death in Mani Majra within hours of being administered the vaccine.

The vaccine samples were seized from the local distributor’s office.

The UT Drug Controller had yesterday banned the sale of pentavac vaccine across the city till further orders. The office of the District Health and Family Welfare Officer received information about the death on Friday, though the baby had reportedly died on Thursday, the day of the vaccination.

The fear of the pentavalent vaccine that struck the city two years ago after the death of an infant in a similar manner resurfaced. Two years ago, a two-month-old from Hallo Majra had died in a similar manner after being given the pentavalent vaccine of a different brand. The time lapse between his death and the vaccination was 16 hours. After a ban of over a month, the pentavalent vaccine was given a clean chit by the Director Controller General of India (DCGI).

A pentavalent vaccine is a combination of five individual vaccines that protect infants against deadly infections, including haemophilus influenza, cough, tetanus, hepatitis B and diptheria. The vaccine was officially launched by the Union Health Ministry last year and made mandatory in India.

Nothing can bring my baby back, says father

In a state of despair, the father of the two-month-old baby, who died after being administered the vaccine, said he did not want to pursue any complaint. As tears rolled down his face, he said, “My baby is gone. Nothing can bring him back. We shuttled across three hospitals that day (on the day of the death) to save him. He was not responding and seemed too inactive,” said Rakesh, who works in a showroom in Mani Majra. “We first took him to a private doctor. He asked us to take him to a government hospital in Mani Majra and we went there. Doctors there asked us to take him to the GMSH, Sector 16. By the time we reached the hospital, he was already dead,” he said. He has a five-year-old daughter. The baby was born at the PGI.

Baby reportedly died on Thursday

The UT Drug Controller had on Sunday banned the sale of pentavac vaccine across the city till further orders. The office of the District Health and Family Welfare Officer received information about the death on Friday, though the baby had reportedly died on Thursday, the day of the vaccination.