MP: Police Arrest Vaccinator For Administering COVID Vaccine To 39 Students With Single Syringe

MP: The parents of students had observed that the same syringe was being used to inoculate the children. The incident led to suspension of district vaccination officer and the vaccinator's arrest.

New Delhi: A vaccinator was arrested on Thursday for allegedly using a single syringe to administer anti-coronavirus vaccine doses to 39 children at a private school in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar city

The incident led to the suspension of the district vaccination officer, officials said on Thursday.

The incident took place on Wednesday at the Jain Higher Secondary School in Sagar during a mega vaccination drive, after which a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against the vaccinator, identified as Jitendra Ahirwar, news agency PTI reported a district official as saying.

Sagar district's Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr DK Goswami said that Ahirwar is a student of a private nursing college and was trained for carrying out vaccination programme by the health department.

Vaccinator's Allegation & Arrest

In a video, the vaccinator claimed that his head of the department (HoD), who had dropped him at the school in a car, asked him to inoculate everyone at the centre with one syringe that was provided to him.

“There is no fault of mine,” he claimed in the video, as quoted by PTI.

When CMHO Dr Goswami was asked about the allegation, he said that the claim was under investigation while mentioning that the district vaccination officer, who was held responsible for the incident, has already been suspended.

The police 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, PTI reported health official as stating.

The parents of some of the students had observed that the same syringe was being used to inoculate the children. They raised an alarm for gross negligence on his part, the officials said.

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 stated.

As per PTI, an official from the Gopalganj police station informed that an FIR was registered 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 the CMHO's report, 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 39 children and carried out certain medical tests whose reports came normal, Goswami said. 

(With Agency Inputs)