3 UP women administered anti-rabies shots instead of Covid vaccine

Lucknow: A government hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district administered anti-rabies injections instead of Covid-19 vaccine shots to three elderly women, their families alleged on Friday. The incident comes days after an absent-minded auxiliary nursing midwife (ANM) delivered coronavirus vaccine jabs twice to a woman within minutes at a primary health centre (PHC) in the state's Kanpur Dehat district.

The condition of one of the three women has reportedly deteriorated. The families have complained to the medical superintendent and demanded action against those who allegedly administered the wrong vaccine.

According to reports, the three women— Saroj (70), a resident of Saravagyan area, and Anarkali (72) and Satyavati (60), both residents of Railway Mandi area — came for Covid-19 vaccination at a community health centre (CHC) in Kandhla town on Thursday.

They were administered shots and asked to go home. After some time, Saroj started feeling dizzy and anxious. Family members took her to a private doctor.

The doctor looked at the OPD slip from the community health centre and informed the family that she had been given a rabies vaccine. Later, the other two women also came to know through their OPD slips that they had been given anti-rabies jabs.

The district magistrate of Shamli, Jasjit Kaur, has set up an inquiry, making the chief medical officer (CMO) and additional chief medical officer (ACMO) the investigating officials in the case, and has also ordered the recording of the statements of the victims. Strict action will be taken against those responsible based on the findings of the investigation, said Kaur. CMO Dr Sanjay Aggarwal said that a thorough probe will be conducted in the matter.

Onlookers were in for a shock in Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol district when two PPE-clad health workers, who were accompanying a Covid-19 patient, stopped at a street cart to sip on sugarcane juice on Thursday.

The incident took place at a crowded joint close to the Rajendra Talkies square when a Covid-19 patient was being taken to a private diagnostic centre for tests. One of the workers even came close to the shop and removed his mask while his colleague sat in the front seat of the ambulance keeping the door ajar.

When a local, shooting their act on his mobile phone, questioned them about their irresponsible behaviour, one of them nonchalantly said that the patient is infected (with Covid19) not him and asked the man to let him have juice peacefully.

The ambulance is registered with a private tour and travels operator. Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Shahdol Dr MS Sagar, talking to the media, feigned ignorance about the matter and said he will enquire into the issue.