Safety concerns have arisen following the deaths of twin boys in Lagos after routine immunisation, with the state government awaiting autopsy and toxicology reports to determine the actual cause of death.
The Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, told newsmen that investigations were ongoing and that it was too early to establish any link between the vaccine administered and the children’s medical outcome.
Abayomi said a coroner’s inquest had been initiated, mandating a post-mortem examination, which has already been conducted. He added that the state was currently awaiting the autopsy findings. Additionally, the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) has launched an investigation to assess whether there were any medical or procedural lapses at the health facility where the immunisation was administered, while other medical findings are also being collated.
The investigations followed a public account by the children’s father, identified on X (formerly Twitter) as @ChuksEricE, who narrated how he and his wife took their twin boys for immunisation at Ajangbadi Primary Health Centre on December 24. According to him, the twins developed high temperatures and became extremely weak after receiving the injections. He said a nurse advised them to administer paracetamol if the fever worsened, which they did, alongside cold-water baths to reduce the temperature.
He said the children later deteriorated and died in the early hours of December 25, adding that the family was seeking justice.
Responding to the allegations, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board (LSPHCB), Ibrahim Mustafa, said the cause of death was yet to be determined and that investigations were ongoing. He told The Guardian that both autopsy and toxicology tests had been ordered and that the state was awaiting the reports to help identify the actual cause.
Mustafa emphasised that Lagos State operates one of the best vaccine cold-chain systems in the country and urged heightened vigilance in monitoring adverse events following immunisation. He explained that vaccines approved for use in Lagos are generally safe, with side effects typically mild and temporary, often signalling that the body is building immunity. While serious reactions are rare, he advised the public to promptly notify relevant authorities whenever an immunisation leads to severe side effects.
He also expressed condolences to the bereaved family, noting that discussions were ongoing between the family and the government at both the local government and district levels.
Providing an expert perspective, a virologist and Chief Executive Officer of Innovative Biotech, Dr Simeon Agwale, said vaccines are subjected to unusually rigorous safety standards because they are administered to healthy people, often on a large scale.
He explained that vaccines undergo extensive laboratory work, animal studies and multi-phase human clinical trials before approval, with safety monitoring continuing even after they are introduced through pharmacovigilance systems.
Agwale noted that when serious adverse events occur during trials, studies are paused to determine whether the vaccine is responsible before they resume.
He said that in the Lagos case, public health authorities would need to establish key details, including the specific vaccine administered, its source, storage conditions, the children’s health status before immunisation, and whether other children received the same vaccine batch on the same day without incident.
Regarding concerns about storage and infrastructure, Agwale said vaccine stability and cold-chain requirements are central to safety, and manufacturers are required to conduct sterility and temperature-sensitivity studies before release.
He explained that vaccines are distributed with temperature-monitoring indicators that reveal exposure to unsafe conditions; in such cases, the vaccines are discarded.
He added that strengthening cold-chain systems and investing in local vaccine manufacturing would further improve immunisation safety and public confidence in Nigeria.
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