Mexico: Two babies die, dozens hospitalised after being vaccinated

Two infants have died and at least 29 fell ill just hours after being vaccinated against tuberculosis, rotavirus and Hepatitis B in southern Mexico. The government immediately suspended the inoculations nationwide for babies and launched an investigation.

Six of the ill babies are in grave condition, and the rest are stable, reports the Los Angeles Times. They all lived in the impoverished town of Simojovel in Chiapas. A total of 52 children in the town received the vaccinations.

Authorities met with parents and promised the best medical care and a thorough, transparent investigation, according to a government statement.

The bad news comes after a wave of criticism in America against "anti-vaxxers," parents who refuse to vaccinate their children because of health fears or for religious reasons, in the wake of major measles outbreaks in the US that spread to Mexico and Canada.

Authorities did not release the ages of those who were inoculated, but in Mexico, all vaccinations for rotavirus, tuberculosis and Hepatitis B are recommended for infants up through the age of six months, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. American children are not vaccinated against tuberculosis.