Chetumal, Quintana Roo — A routine vaccination mission turned to tragedy when eight employees of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) collapsed from a mysterious poisoning during transport to a rural community. Two of the workers remain in serious condition, prompting demands for an official explanation.
The incident occurred on the morning of Thursday when the employees began experiencing dizziness, nausea, and difficulty breathing while traveling in the institutional vehicle. Upon arriving at the vaccination point, all eight workers collapsed one after another and were immediately transferred to the IMSS Regional General Hospital in Chetumal.
Two of the affected individuals remain in a delicate state, while the other six are under observation in the emergency area. The cause of the poisoning has not yet been determined, and it is unknown what substance could have contaminated the air inside the ambulance, a vehicle expected to comply with strict sanitization and maintenance protocols.
The lack of official information has generated indignation among healthcare workers, who have denounced alleged negligence and failures in the safety controls of the mobile units used in vaccination campaigns. Relatives of the affected workers and union representatives have demanded an immediate and transparent investigation, warning that the incident could expose serious deficiencies in the institute's occupational safety protocols in Quintana Roo.
While authorities remain silent, uncertainty is growing among medical personnel, who fear a similar event could occur during future vaccination campaigns in the region.
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