Man who used same syringe to vaccinate 39 students arrested
New Delhi, July 29: A vaccinator allegedly used a single syringe to administer anti-coronavirus vaccine doses to 39 children at a private school in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar city, leading to his arrest and suspension of the district vaccination officer, officials said on Thursday.
The incident took place on Wednesday at the Jain Higher Secondary School in the city during a mega vaccination drive, after which a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against the vaccinator, identified as Jitendra Ahirwar, a district official said, according to news agency PTI.
Ahirwar is a student of a private nursing college and had been trained for carrying out vaccination programme by the health department, Sagar district's Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr DK Goswami said.
However, in a viral video, the vaccinator alleged his head of the department (HoD), who had dropped him at the school in a car, asked him to inoculate everyone present at the centre with one syringe that was provided to him.
"There is no fault of mine," he claimed in the video.
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When CMHO Dr Goswami was asked about the allegations of Ahirwar, he said it was a matter of investigation and maintained the district vaccination officer, who was held responsible for the incident, has already been suspended.
In a related development, cops arrested Ahirwar from Sagar city on Thursday evening and sent him to jail, said Kamal Singh Thakur, in-charge of the Gopalganj police station, where the FIR was filed.
The
39
children,
aged
15
and
above,
were
from
Classes
9
to
12,
a
health
official
said.
The
parents
of
some
of
the
students
on
Wednesday
observed
the
vaccinator
was
using
the
same
syringe
to
inoculate
the
children
and
raised
an
alarm
for
gross
negligence
on
his
part,
the
officials
said.
After the parents protested, Sagar's in-charge Collector Kshitij Singhal sent the CMHO to inquire. Those present at the spot told Goswami that the vaccinator allegedly used the same syringe to administer vaccine doses to as many as 39 children, the district official said.
After the protest by parents, Ahirwar escaped from the spot and was not found when the CMHO inspected the school. The accused had also switched-off his mobile phone, Goswami said.
Taking serious cognisance of the incident, Sagar divisional commissioner Mukesh Shukla on Thursday suspended district vaccination officer Dr Shobharam Roshan on the basis of the CMHO's report, another official said.
The suspension order was issued by the divisional commissioner, who directed the collector to appoint another official in place of Dr Roshan, he said.
An official from the Gopalganj police station said they have registered an FIR against Ahirwar under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 336 (rash or negligent act endangering human life or personal safety of others).
On the basis of a report of the CMHO, the collector recommended to the divisional commissioner a departmental probe and appropriate action against district vaccination officer Dr Roshan, Singhal said.
Meanwhile, health officials examined all the 39 children and carried out certain medical tests whose reports came normal, Goswami said.