Vaccine Reactions Kill Two Babies and Hospitalize Dozens More

Mexican health officials have suspended the country’s vaccination program while they investigate suspected adverse reactions that killed two babies and sickened many others.

The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) administered BCG (tuberculosis), rotavirus, and hepatitis B vaccines to 52 children at the hospital in Simojovel as part of the National Vaccination Program on Friday.

The majority of the children who received the vaccination had a reaction within hours of being injected.

From Fox News Latino:

“The Chiapas Health Secretariat is treating 37 children in the town of La Pimienta, outside the city of Simojovel, after they experienced allergic reactions to a vaccine supposedly administered by IMSS health personnel,” state health officials said.

A total of “14 children are in serious condition, 22 are stable and one is in critical condition,” the Chiapas Health Secretariat said in a statement.

“Two children age 1 died,” the secretariat said.

Both the Chiapas Health Secretariat and the IMSS are conducting investigations to identify the cause of the allergic reactions that the babies experienced. So far, they haven’t said what they think caused the children to become ill. The vaccine batches have been identified and will no longer be used. Authorities are also investigating the needles used in the vaccinations to check for the possibility of contamination by a virus or bacteria.

The parents of the two infants who died were so outraged at the government that they refused to let authorities perform autopsies, CNNMexico reported.

The National Human Rights Commission, or CNDH, also said in a statement released Saturday that it was opening an investigation to determine what caused the babies’ deaths.