There was panic yesterday at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) following the death of an infant allegedly linked to the ongoing rubella measles vaccination for children under 14.

It was gathered that some children were rushed to the hospital shortly after receiving the vaccine, with claims circulating that multiple deaths had been recorded.

A family friend of one of the affected children alleged that the vaccine was responsible for the deaths.

“Rubella measles vaccine is killing children at UBTH,” he claimed, adding that he witnessed three deaths.

However, the public relations officer of UBTH, Osaretin Iyen, said he was unaware of any deaths from the vaccination but promised to investigate the allegation.

Reacting to the development, the director of Public Health at the Edo State Ministry of Health, Stephenson Ojeifo, dismissed the claims that the vaccine caused any fatalities.

Ojeifo said he visited the hospital after the ministry drew attention to the reports.

“The issue of death as a result of the vaccine is not true. The patients came in after taking the vaccine, and some of them have already been discharged.”

He cautioned against drawing conclusions, noting that hospital admission after vaccination does not automatically imply causation.

“You take a vaccine and then come to the hospital does not mean the vaccine caused it. That is why we investigate,” he stated.

According to him, only one patient,  a 14-year-old, remains on admission and is in stable condition.

“He is very okay and was discussing with me. We just want to conduct further checks to ensure there are no related issues. That is the only one on admission,” Ojeifo added.

Speaking on the reported death, he explained that the deceased child was a sickle cell patient with a history of recurrent crises.

“He was inoculated with the vaccine, but you cannot say he died because of it. He was a sickle cell patient who had always been coming down with crises.

The information that people are dying from the vaccine is not true,” he said.

Ojeifo added that he met with relevant medical officials, including the Head of Paediatrics, and found no evidence linking the vaccine to any deaths.