Daringbadi: Six students of a government-run primary school in Kandhamal district had to be hospitalised Friday as they took ill two days after getting vaccinated during a routine immunisation drive. The incident has triggered an official inquiry and sparked concern among parents. The students—three boys and three girls—attend Patangi Government Primary School under Kirikuti panchayat in Daringbadi block. According to school sources, the children received DPT and TT vaccines Wednesday as part of a government health initiative. While classes were underway Friday afternoon, the students reportedly developed symptoms including chest pain, headache, body ache, fever, and chills.
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However, they were not immediately attended to by the school authorities. Instead, a local Anganwadi worker, Latika Pradhan, and the children’s guardians arranged an auto-rickshaw and admitted them to Simanbadi Hospital. The children were treated by Dr. Abinash Mallick and are reportedly in stable condition. The lack of timely response from school officials drew sharp criticism from the students’ families and the local community. Kandhamal District Education Officer Rajesh Swain has ordered a probe into the incident.
A team led by Additional Block Education Officer (ABEO) Gokulananda Nayak, along with officials Banamali Majhi and Cluster Resource Centre Coordinator (CRCC) Rakesh Kumar Sahu, visited the school to investigate. They questioned Headmistress Sunama Pradhan regarding the chain of events and her response. During the inquiry, the headmistress stated that she had delegated vaccination monitoring duties to two teachers—one of whom was present at the school while the other was on leave. However, investigators found that the leave application had not been officially approved or signed by her, raising questions about administrative oversight. Health officials have said the cause of the students’ illness— whether related to the vaccines or any other factor—will be confirmed only after a detailed investigation.
