The UN has halted a mass vaccination program in opposition held northwestern Syria after dozens of children, all under the age of two, fell sick on Tuesday and died within minutes to hours after they received their doses.

Reports state that 15 infants have been confirmed dead but other doctors are saying that the number could actually be between 36 to 50 fatalities from the bad batch of vaccines.

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Witnesses said that within 30 minutes of being administered the vaccines, children began to fall ill with symptoms of diarrhea, respiratory failure, and shock.

According to Dr. Mohammad Hamadi, a physician who assisted in administering the vaccines which arrived in the region just three days prior to being used, instead of a measles vaccination, the children instead got Atracuriam, which is a muscle relaxant that is fatal to infants.

He said it was possible that the drug was accidentally mixed with the medicine instead of the dilution normally put into the vaccine because the bottles looked very similar.

An investigation is underway to determine if the vaccines were indeed inadvertently mixed up or if they were deliberately tampered with and sabotaged.

Syrian officials have demanded an urgent probe and vowed to prosecute all those responsible for the excruciating deaths of the children.

Although the mass vaccination program has been temporarily halted, the World Health Organization says that continuing to send medical aid, including vaccines, to children in Syria is vital.  

In a joint statement issued by WHO and the UN, both agencies agreed to temporarily stopping the program as the exact circumstances and cause of the deaths are being investigated.  But because displaced children who are currently living in unsanitary conditions in camps are at high risk for measles, rubella, and polio, every effort has to be made to ensure that the program resumes safely and as soon as possible.

Tagsvaccines, syria children, bad vaccines, UN, WHO, infant fatalities, measles