Vaccine fiasco: Jaya blames DMK Govt

Chennai, Apr 25 (UNI) Opposition AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa today alleged that the DMK Government's mismanagement was not following the set procedures in maintaining vaccines and using vaccines beyond the expiry dates, had resulted in the death of four infants in Tiruvallur district.

Reacting to the death of four ten-month-old babies after being administered measles vaccines at Tiruvallur headquarters hospital, she said in a statement here that now the big question was whether the cold chain for the vaccines was proper.

With most of the villages in the State plunged in darkness after the DMK came to power, hospitals, especially those located in rural areas, faced difficulty in preserving drugs and vaccines in cold storage, she alleged.

Ms Jayalalithaa blamed the DMK Government for its decision to purchase the measles vaccines, administered to children at Tiruvallur, at a cheaper rate.

The State Government, till recently, was purchasing the vaccines from a Pune-based firm at the rate of Rs eight per dose. However, a few months ago, it had decided to purchase vaccines from the Hyderabad-based Human Biological Institute at a reduced rate of Rs seven per dose, which cost the lives of four infants, she said.

Conveying her heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, the AIADMK leader wished speedy recovery to the children undergoing treatment in hospital.

She demanded that the State Government should pay a compensation of Rs five lakh each to the bereaved families. The State Government had paid a compensation of Rs three lakh each to the families of deceased.

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