There is a high likelihood medical error was to blame for the deaths of two infants in Samoa following their MMR vaccinations, a vaccinologist and senior lecturer says.
The one-year-olds died earlier this month, minutes after receiving the jab for measles, mumps and rubella.
Auckland University’s Helen Petousis-Harris said there were three things that killed people after receiving vaccines.
The babies in Samoa did not have an allergic anaphylactic reaction and it was unlikely the vaccine had become contaminated by being left at room temperature for too long, Dr Petousis-Harris said.
That meant the third and most likely cause was that the vaccine was prepared incorrectly by medical staff, she said.
“Looking at how quickly the deaths occurred really leaves only one real possibility and that is that something other than water was used in the vaccine but those investigations are what’s being carried out now to see what actually happened.”
Two investigations are underway, one by health authorities, the other by police.
Source: RNZ, 26th July 2018.
