Director Health Service Dr Sumant Mishra on April 12 expressed grief over the death of four children who died in Loinga village of Palamu district post DPT vaccination on April 8 and assured that none of the guilty would be spared.

Addressing a press conference at the Suchana Bhawan over the issue, he said the matter is being investigated and soon the post-mortem and other reports would be out which will make clear the reasons behind the death of the children. Dr Mishra issued an appeal to the people stating that all the vaccines being given by the state government were safe and complete care was maintained in their storage especially the temperature.

He said, the vaccines are completely safe and no compromise has been made over the quality of the vaccines and urged the people to get their children regularly vaccinated. He said, due to the regular vaccination programme, the infant mortality rate has come down in the state. He said the infant mortality rate in Jharkhand was below the national average and the government was working to further reduce it.

Dr Mishra said, 90 per cent vaccination in the state is being done at the government hospitals, health care centers and anganwadi centers. He said, vaccination test lab of Government of India based at Kasauli and Kolkata were also probing the matter. He said, the centers have been urged to give their reports quickly so the true reason behind the death of children can be determined.