Aparna Banerji
Jalandhar, February 28
From February 13, Asha Devi has approached at least six hospitals in Doaba (at Goraya, Wadala and in the cities of Jalandhar and Phagwara), to get the treatment of her 16-year-old son who is currently unable to move or talk. The poor family is running out of money to organise the treatment of the 16-year-old.
A healthy and normal kid until the night of February 12, but the next morning, Mohit, a student of Class X, was left paralysed. While he previously had no ailment, his mother Asha says his health deteriorated five days after he received the Covid vaccine.
With all region hospitals failing to take him in, he is currently undergoing treatment at the PGI, Chandigarh. Doctors at the PGI, however, said there is no link between the boy’s health and vaccination. While under treatment, Mohit has been prescribed a vaccine which costs Rs 14,500. The family said they are unable to afford the cost of the vaccine.
Hailing from Jalandhar, Mohit’s mother Asha is a domestic help and his father is a granthi. He has two more siblings, a brother and a sister, both younger to him.
Asha said, “He got his Covid vaccination from a government dispensary on February 8. He stayed fine for a few days but when I woke him on the morning of February 13, he started crying and asked me to get him up. We tried to make him sit but he couldn’t.”
She said, “We took him to hospitals in Goraya, Wadala, at least two hospitals in Phagwara and three in Jalandhar, including PIMS. He was finally admitted to a Jalandhar private hospital for a few days where doctors told us the vaccine seemed a plausible cause for the sudden paralysis. However, at the PGI, doctors have told us there is no link between his health and the vaccine. We don’t know whom to believe. He was a healthy child before this. Right now, neither can he walk or move his body nor feel anything. My husband is a pathi and I work at homes. We have very meager earnings. We need financial help to ensure proper treatment of our son.”
Asha’s sister Kaushalya, who is handicapped, has also been helping the family. She said, “We have sold our gold to ensure the boy’s treatment. He has been prescribed four vaccines a day. A single vaccine costs Rs 14,500. While we have an Ayushman Card, the injections he’s getting aren’t covered under it. Only other medicines, ventilator costs etc. are covered. A poor family can’t spend that much money. We are currently without money for tomorrow’s vaccines. We just want his treatment to go smoothly. Doctors say there is hope for recovery, but if misses the injection, it might prove fatal.”
Jalandhar: 16-yr-old paralysed, family says it happened 5 days after Covid jab
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