Ajman: Authorities in Ajman have launched an investigation into the death of a 7-year-old Emirati boy in the early hours of Tuesday after he was given a routine vaccine at his school on Monday.
Authorities have not disclosed what type of vaccine it was but the boy’s family say he was suffering from fever at the time of the injection and should not have been administered the jab.
Police told Gulf News: “We do not know if the vaccine blamed on the boy’s death is responsible because all of the other students took the same vaccine on the same day and nothing happened to them, so we are investigating the incident.”
An official at the government school where the boy studied confirmed that he was given the vaccine at the school on Monday but died later at home in the early hours of Tuesday.
His family found him unresponsive when they tried to wake him up for school the next day at around 5.30am. They took him to hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
We do not know if the vaccine blamed on the boy’s death is responsible because all of the other students took the same vaccine on the same day and nothing happened to them, so we are investigating.
A statement from the Ministry of Education said: “We deeply regret the death of a student from a primary school in Ajman. Police are investigating the incident and have formed a committee with Public Prosecution and the Ministry of Education to determine the circumstances of the death and to take all necessary legal measures. The Ministry of Education extends its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased, calling upon God to grant him mercy. The Ministry of Education is keen to take all possible precautions and procedures to ensure the safety and security of all its students.”
A Ministry of Education official told Gulf News that all staff hired in school clinics were from Ministry of Health hospitals and were professional and well trained in dealing with students.
The boy’s funeral took place at Al Jurf cemetery on Tuesday after Dhuhur prayers.
A family member told Gulf News that this was the second tragedy to befall the family in three months after the death of the boy’s sister in November.
