Four deaths reported after Measles Rubella vaccination in Gujarat
Gandhinagar, July 28 : Gujarat health officials on Saturday said they have received reports about four children dying after they were given measles rubella vaccination.
A Central investigating team has, however, ruled out any linkage between these deaths and the vaccination process.
Deputy Commissioner, immunization, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, said: "As per preliminary investigation, we don't see the cause of death to be vaccination. Two of the children showed signs of acute abdominal problems, one child of viral encephalitis and one of some kind of drug reaction. A definite cause of death would be known after the post-mortem reports."
While parents of two of the victim children agreed to undergo the post-mortem of their children, the parents of the other two refused. The cases of these deaths were reported after the victims underwent the vaccination carried out by the state government under a drive to eradicate measles and rubella in the nation.
The drive began from July 16. After the reports of four deaths, a Central team comprising health officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare arrived in the state. The team is led by Dr. Haldar.
The other officials are the Assistant Commissioner Arti Garg, Dr. Deepak Polpagare, the national team head of the Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) and Dr. Sugandha Arya, a pediatrician and the national AEFI member.
"The deaths of four children were recorded between 30 to 115 hours after the vaccination. If there was any anomaly, they would have been affected within an hour. Because of this, children are kept under observation for 30 to 45 minutes post vaccination," Haldar said.
He added post vaccination, 14 other deaths too were reported in 21 of the
states where the vaccination drive was carried out. All of those deaths were due to other medical conditions and none of them due to the measles rubella vaccines.
Haldar said the vaccination was approved by World Health Organization (WHO).
The MR vaccination project was initiated on February 7, 2017 and it would be over by April 2019. The vaccination has been completed in 17 states. It is continuing in four states -- Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Against the target of vaccinating 41 crore children across the nation, 9.62 crore are already covered.
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Centre moves SC for withdrawing CRPF security to Unnao rape survivor, SC seeks her reply
New Delhi, Sep 24: The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought responses from the 2017 Unnao rape survivor and her family members on the Centre's plea seeking withdrawal of CRPF security cover provided to them following the court's order in 2019. Expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar is serving a life term for kidnapping and raping the minor girl in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao area in 2017.
Taking note of the sensational rape case and the threat to lives of the survivor and others, the apex court on August 1, 2019, directed that the rape survivor, her mother, other members of the family and their lawyer be provided CRPF security.
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma asked that the application of the Centre to be served on the victim and her family members. The bench also observed that since there is hardly any threat perception, it would like to close the case.
The Centre's counsel said no security cover is needed according to the threat analysis of the victim and her family members.
Advocate Ruchira Goel, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, submitted that everything, including the trial, was transferred to Delhi after the incident following the apex court's order.
The bench asked Goel where the victim resides at present. She replied that the woman and her family stay in Delhi.
On May 14, the top court had asked the Centre to file a separate application seeking withdrawal of CRPF security cover provided to the survivor, her family members and their lawyers.
The Centre submitted that the security cover may be provided by either the Delhi or Uttar Pradesh police and the CRPF be permitted to withdraw.
In 2019, the top court transferred all five cases registered in connection with the Unnao rape incident from a Lucknow court to a court in Delhi with the direction to hold trial on daily basis and complete it within 45 days.
The Supreme Court also directed the Uttar Pradesh government to provide Rs 25 lakh as interim compensation to the rape survivor.
The court had added that the CBI will have to complete within seven days the investigation into the accident in which the survivor and her lawyer were critically injured and two of her aunts killed.
Her father was arrested at the behest of Sengar in a case under the Arms Act and died in custody on April 9, 2018.
Sengar has sought the quashing of the trial court's December 2019 judgment that has sentenced him to imprisonment for the remainder of his life. His appeal is pending in the Delhi High Court.
On March 13, 2020, Sengar was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in the case of death of the woman's father in custody. He was also slapped with a fine of Rs 10 lakh. The court had awarded a 10-year jail term to Sengar's brother Atul Singh Sengar and five others in the case.
