New Delhi: There are frequent incidents of negligence by government employees, but this time they have exceeded their limits. The incident occurred in Yavatmal, Maharashtra on Sunday, when more than 2,000 children aged 1–5 years old with their parents for the Polio Vaccination Program as part of a national vaccination campaign launched in the morning.
Here the gross negligence of the employees was revealed. It happened that health workers gave 12 children under 5 years of age a polio drop in hand sanitizer. Due to which those children had to be hospitalized. Shri Krishna Panchal, Chief Executive Officer of Yavatmal Zilla Parishad gave information about this.
The Chief Executive Officer said that the hospitalized children are now well and three employees associated with the incident – a health worker, a doctor and an Asha worker will be suspended. The matter is under investigation and appropriate action will be taken.
The health officer said here on Monday that at least 12 children were given sanitizer drops instead of drops of polio vaccine at a primary health center in Kopasi-Kopari village of Jhapaji.
According to the official, some children were given drops of sanitizer instead of polio drops, after which the children complained of nausea, cramps and vomiting, which caused panic among the families and health officials of the children. All those children were immediately taken to Vasantrao Naik Government Medical College and Hospital for treatment.
“The condition of all the children is now stable and is improving,” the official said. They are constantly being monitored. Dr. Milind Kamble, Dean of VNGMCH told IANS, Based on his condition, we will consider him to be discharged on Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile, leaders of the local opposition Bharatiya Janata Party demanded that the individuals who were playing with the lives of children so young should be suspended with immediate effect for negligence.
The incident came to light when President Ram Nath Kovind launched the National Polio Immunization Drive in 2021 for children below five years of age on January 30 at Rashtrapati Bhavan.