Chilling case: 30 students jabbed with same syringe, probe ordered in MP

The incident has taken place at the Jain Public School in Sagar where the vaccinator jabbed the students with the same syringe during a vaccination camp. The 30 children, aged 15 and above, were from Classes 9 to 12, a health official said.

Sagar: Authorities in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district have been accused of putting the lives of at least 30 students at risk by administering the COVID-19 vaccine with the same syringe on Wednesday, July 27. A video of the vaccinator, who introduced himself as Jitendra came to light in which he is making a confession that during a vaccination drive at the Jain Public School in Sagar, he jabbed 30 students with the same syringe.

He further claimed that the authorities sent only one syringe and the "head of the department" directed him to vaccinate all the kids with it. The 30 children, aged 15 and above, were from Classes 9 to 12, a health official said.

The parents of some of the children on Wednesday observed the vaccinator using the same syringe to inoculate the children and raised an alarm for the gross negligence on his part, they said. As soon as other parents came to know about this incident, they reached the school and created a ruckus. After the parents protested, Sagar's in-charge Collector Kshitij Singhal sent district Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr. D K Goswami to examine the issue.

Those present at the spot told Goswami that the vaccinator allegedly used the same syringe to vaccinate as many as 30 children, the official said. After the protest by their parents, Ahirwar escaped from the spot and was not found when the CMHO inspected the school. The accused had switched off his mobile phone, Goswami said.

An official from the Gopal Ganj police station said they have registered an FIR against Ahirwar under the Indian Penal Code 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 action against district vaccination officer Dr. Rakesh Roshan, Singhal said.

Meanwhile, health officials examined all the 30 children. The reports of 19 of them were found to be normal and the reports of the remaining children were awaited, Goswami said.