A 17-year-old girl died after collapsing shortly after receiving a tetanus and diphtheria (Td) vaccine during a routine immunisation drive organised by the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC). Authorities have suspended the vaccine batch involved as a precaution while multiple investigations are underway.
The teenager had visited the vaccination camp with her father on Wednesday to receive a scheduled Td booster dose. According to officials, she was vaccinated at around 12:40 pm.
Shortly afterward, she reportedly became unwell while leaving the vaccination site and collapsed nearby. Witnesses said she was immediately taken to a district government hospital, where doctors declared her dead.
CCTV footage circulating online appears to show the teenager collapsing on the road shortly after leaving the vaccination site. Some reports also state that she sustained a head injury during the fall.
The girl's family has alleged that the vaccine caused her death and has demanded a thorough investigation.
Her father, Anil Patil, told NDTV, "She collapsed just minutes after receiving the vaccine. My daughter died because of the vaccine. This matter requires a thorough investigation, and strict action must be taken against those responsible."
Health officials, however, said there is currently no evidence establishing that the vaccine caused the death and that investigations are ongoing.
The family also claimed that health workers had visited their home and encouraged them to participate in the immunization drive, prompting Shravani to accompany her father to the vaccination center.
Officials have stressed that the exact cause of death has not yet been established and urged the public to await the outcome of the investigation.
According to the Nashik Municipal Corporation, the same vaccine vial was administered to several other beneficiaries, including pregnant women and children, none of whom reported any adverse reactions.
Officials said six other beneficiaries received doses from the same opened vial, including four pregnant women, a 16-year-old girl, and a 10-year-old boy. Overall, the municipal health department stated that approximately 120 doses had been administered through the same vaccination center without any similar incidents.
As part of the standard investigation protocol for a serious adverse event following immunisation, authorities suspended further use of the vaccine batch and sent samples for laboratory testing.¹
Officials said the municipal corporation had received 24 vials from the batch, of which 12 had already been used. Each vial typically contains around 10 doses.
Police have registered an accidental death case at Ambad Police Station.
A post-mortem examination has been conducted, and viscera samples have been preserved for forensic analysis. Investigators will review the police panchnama, post-mortem findings, vaccine sample testing, forensic analysis, and viscera examination before determining the cause of death.
The municipal health department has activated an Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) committee to investigate the incident. A high-level review meeting has also been held, and the committee's findings will be forwarded to state health authorities in Pune before being submitted to the Maharashtra government.
Officials also notified immunisation surveillance coordinators as part of the adverse event reporting process.¹
Dr. Vijay Devkar, Chief Medical and Health Officer of the Nashik Municipal Corporation, said the Td vaccine protects against tetanus and diphtheria and is routinely administered to adolescents and pregnant women under India's immunisation programme.
"This vaccine is administered to 10-year-old children, 16-year-old adolescents, and pregnant women. In Nashik alone, around 30,000 pregnant women and an equal number of adolescents receive it annually," Dr. Devkar said.
He added that rare adverse events cannot be ruled out, but the exact cause of death would only be known after all investigation reports are reviewed.
"The final report will reveal the exact cause of the death. For now, a case of accidental death has been registered at the Ambad police station and further investigations are on," an official said.
Deputy Director of Health Kapil Aher also reiterated that healthcare workers are properly trained to administer vaccines.
Authorities have emphasized that the cause of the teenager's death has not yet been established. The findings of the post-mortem, forensic analysis, vaccine testing, and AEFI investigation will determine whether the death was related to vaccination or another underlying medical event.
World Health Organization. Causality Assessment of an Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI): User Manual for the Revised WHO Classification. 2nd ed., 2019 update. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2021. Accessed June 26, 2026. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241516990.
World Health Organization. Immunization Stress-Related Response: A Manual for Program Managers and Health Professionals to Prevent, Identify and Respond to Stress-Related Responses Following Immunization. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2019. Accessed June 26, 2026. https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/330277.
(Rh/ARC/MSM)
