In a bid to draw the Centre's attention to the recent deaths of infants who were administered pentavalent vaccine, a group of academicians, professors and teachers of public health and paediatricians have written a letter to the health secretary, asking him to take necessary action to protect lives. They informed the secretary that three infants had died in the past three weeks in Kerala after receiving the vaccine. One baby died in Harayana this week.
Pentavalent vaccine was introduced in Kerala and Tamil Nadu on the recommendation of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI). There were concerns about the safety of the vaccine, and therefore, NTAGI mandated it was to be introduced in the immunization programme in just two states (Tamil Nadu and Kerala) to monitor the vaccine’s safety. The letter cites the minutes of the NTAGI meeting, which says data has to be…
