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NEW DELHI , April 7: Rajya Sabha MP Brinda Karat has written to the health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad demanding an inquiry into the death of four tribal girls in Khammam after they were administered the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil against the HPV virus.
Ms Karat and a team of AIDWA activists visited the Khammam district in Andhra Pradesh on April 2 and spoke to the parents who had lost their daughters and to a cross-section of young girls who had received three doses of this vaccine in quick succession.
About the parents of the girls who died, the letter highlights, “Firmly believe they died of the effects of the vaccine.” Shockingly, the post-mortem reports of the deaths have not been given to the parents to date.
Speaking to the media in the capital, Ms Karat highlighted how she had interacted with several hundred children who had been administered the vaccine during her visit to Khammam district. She also visited six villages to get a feedback from the parents. Her conclusions were that “Most of the children I met suffer from stomach aches, headaches, giddiness and exhaustion. There have also been reports of early onset of menstruation, heavy bleeding, extreme mood swings, irritability and uneasiness following the vaccination. When I raised this with the authorities they said these are normal ailments unrelated to the vaccines. Yet the children are categorical that the problems started only after they were vaccinated.”
What is even more shocking is that despite the claims of NGO Path and local medical authorities, in a large number of cases no prior permission had been taken from the parents to vaccinate the girls.
“In the ST girls’ hostel in Laxminagaram, where 278 children were vaccinated, the hostel warden had signed on behalf of all the parents. This seemed to have been the common occurrence in a large number of the ashram residential schools and the residential bridge course schools where these girls were living,” Ms Karat said. Ms Karat also has demanded to know under what category had these vaccines been administered.
Rashme Sehgal
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