When Vaccination Goes Wrong: Nigerian Parents Voice Worry and Frustration

Parents are becoming increasingly frustrated and anxious about their children’s apparent developmental regression after routine immunizations, which raises challenging issues at the nexus of scientific data, parental experience, and public health.

Gift Oba addresses the issues raised by parents, the opinions of medical professionals, and the wider consequences for vaccine confidence in Nigeria in this article.

For five-year-old Samson (no real name), it is a huge, reverberating stillness when the world speaks in unison.

The tiny kid, who lives with his parents in the Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, knows the words for “mama” and “dada,” but the phrases are stuck behind a wall of sound he cannot pull through.

His brow furrows, he stretches his palm, and his cry turns into the only dictionary he has instead of requesting his favorite toy.

A boy who constantly stares at the ceiling fan and rotates his body in a rhythmic 360-degree dance with its blades has taken the place of the child who used to sing “Halleluyah” and engage with the outside world.

For his mother, Mrs. Iraboh (not actual name) the bright recordings of his early years are terrible evidence of a “before” and a “after.” Up until one significant event—the Measles 2 vaccination—she maintained that her son was doing well.

She said, “He was okay, until I collected the vaccine,” describing how her healthy son abruptly lost the capacity to repeat phrases and stopped reacting to his name.

Her narrative offers a glimpse into a developing, intricate phenomenon where parental fear and developmental regression collide.

Mothers like Mrs. Irabo are conducting their own study, believing that heavy metals and vaccine records hold the secret to why their children’s voices vanished, even if medical science describes delayed speech as a result of hearing loss, heredity, or underlying illnesses like autism.

When a child’s speech and language development is slower than what is normally predicted for their age, it is referred to as delayed speech. Numerous reasons, including hearing loss, developmental delays, environmental factors (such lack of stimulation), and genetic predisposition, might contribute to this.

According to research, children with delayed speech may struggle to articulate words, comprehend language, or communicate properly. This issue can be brought on by a number of circumstances, including a transitory lag, a hearing impairment, an underlying disorder like autism, or an intellectual disability.

Mother: “My son was fine until we got the measles 2 vaccine.”

The mother of two reported that when her child was one year and three months old, she saw a regression in him following the vaccination, including his incapacity to converse like children of his age.

“Thursday, November 12, 2020, keeps flashing in my head, I was already 42 weeks pregnant and didn’t fall into labor, on getting to the hospital, I was induced and labored for 15 hours, before they carried out an emergency Cesarean section,” she remembers.

Nevertheless, my child was born healthily and well. He interacted with people and was fine, just like every other child, until I had the measles 2 vaccination. He began staring nonstop, stopped talking, and was unable to repeat sentences. We would call his name, but he would not answer.

He would follow everything that was moving; for instance, he would focus on our ceiling fan and rotate 360 degrees with the blade. Even when he was on the verge of falling, he would not stop until I held him.

Before the vaccine went “wrong,” our correspondent saw the infant making sounds and pronouncing phrases like “mama” and “halleluyah” in a little video that the mother aired.

According to those films, he was OK and conversing with people, but after receiving the vaccination, he stopped speaking and was unable to repeat anything. Because the vaccine includes heavy metal, I was supposed to detox him after collecting it, I discovered after doing some research,” she added.

Another mother, Lisa Benjamin, who goes by Lisa Motherhood & lifestyle on TikTok, wrote about her experience and claimed that her daughter developed autism following the vaccination.

“What if these kids react differently to these vaccines, what if it affects some children and doesn’t affect others?” she asked in the video.

“My daughter used to react to her name; she was fine and accomplished all of her milestones until she turned one year old, at which point I began to notice some differences.”

When reached, she reported that delayed speaking, tiptoeing, stimming, non-response to her name, and disparities in social interaction with peers were among the early indicators.

“My kid is three years old. Delayed speech, not answering her name, tiptoeing, stimming, and disparities in social contact with peers were among the early symptoms I observed. As she grew older, these symptoms became more apparent, she claimed.

Similar stories were reported by some parents on Lisa Benjamin’s TikTok post, who connected their child’s autism diagnosis to regression following immunization.

“She ain’t lying, my child was verbal until his one-year vaccination and all of a sudden, he regressed and has been diagnosed with autism,” remarked OluwaMayokun Hamdallah.

“This happened to my son, he was already repeating words at 8 months there about saying goodbye and hello at 11 months before we collected measles 2 immunization,” wrote a different user who went by the handle @Oritoke. And that’s where the issue started; we saw deterioration once he became ill.

“After recovery he stopped answering to his name, wasn’t talking and started tilting his neck to one side. He was even tiptoeing, which is something he had never done before.

In a similar vein, @Ugonma said, “Hello, mom. My niece also experienced this; at seven months old, she abruptly stopped reacting to her name, but we were able to identify it in time. She was energetic and nonverbal at one year and six months. We had to get her a specialist tutor and conduct a lot of heavy metal detoxification.

“Basically what we did was half fill her bath tub with warm water,” Ugonma added, describing the detoxification procedure. Then add epsom salt and baking soda and put her in there for about 10mins (she had her toys so she was just playing).

It was one of the things that was advised, and we did that two or three times a week at night. It was one of the things we did, but we’re not sure if it was what made a difference.

Twins in Lagos pass away 24 hours after receiving a vaccine

Samuel Alozie, a 30-year-old father, claimed earlier this month that his nine-month-old twin boys died as a result of obtaining vaccinations from a basic healthcare facility in the Ajanybadi area of the Ojo local government in Lagos State.

Alozie, who goes by Promise Samuel on TikTok, said that his twins, Testimony and Timothy, passed away early on Christmas Day, December 25, 2025, after he took them for a normal vaccination on December 24, 2025.

He claims that his children felt extremely weak right after the injections, and even though he gave them paracetamol as the nurse suggested, their fever kept rising till they lost the ghost.

He said that they were given counterfeit, out-of-date, or improper medications.

Alozie stated, “The vaccination was administered early on December 24. And they passed away early on December 25. They were really feeble on the 24th following the injection, so I gave them paracetamol because the nurse had advised me to do so if the temperature persisted.

“I, and my wife, after we left the health centre, went home and gave the two of them paracetamol, which didn’t solve anything. They both passed away simultaneously on the 25th after my wife gave them a cold water bath.

“The saddest aspect is that two of them were so weakened by the medicine that they were unable to play, eat, or talk like they used to.

In response, Ibrahim Mustafa, Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, stated that a post-mortem examination had been performed to ascertain the true cause of their death and that investigations were still in progress.

Although Mustafa acknowledged that the children had received vaccinations, he maintained that there was no proof that this was the reason behind their demise.

“We regularly administer vaccinations. Vaccines have been administered from the beginning of time. Indeed, the kids had a vaccination, but we don’t believe that was the reason for their demise.

“The only thing that can show what caused this thing is the post-mortem and toxicology tests were also being carried out following the allegations raised by the children’s father,” he added.

Mothers are becoming frustrated.

Mrs. Irabo revealed that raising a child with delayed speech is emotionally taxing and necessitates patience to prevent irritation.

She claims that when her son wants to use the restroom, he will either scream loudly or start dancing while shaking his waist.

The hardest thing, according to Mrs. Benjamin, is not being able to understand her daughter’s demands, which causes her to have frustrated meltdowns because she is still unable to communicate herself.

“The most difficult part has been not always being able to fully understand my daughter because she cannot yet express herself, which sometimes leads to meltdowns born out of frustration,” the woman stated.

“Dealing with societal misunderstanding and navigating the uncertainty, particularly not knowing how quickly progress will come, has also been difficult.”

“I cope by continuously educating myself, advocating for my child, and celebrating small milestones,” she revealed as her coping mechanism.

Mrs. Benjamin disclosed that she had also started to be deliberate about her child’s meals, establishing basic routines that make her feel secure and controlled, encouraging communication through plays and repetition, and paying careful attention to what upsets or calms her.

She said, “It’s a hands-on process that requires patience, consistency, and a lot of trial and error.”

Parents implore the government to provide inexpensive services and conducive schools.

Some parents have criticized the expense and weariness of employing speech therapists for their kids, calling on all levels of government to make every effort to create a school atmosphere that is suitable for kids with special needs.

Additionally, they said that policies promoting inclusive education, therapy financing, and caregiver support would significantly benefit families and urged the government and community to raise awareness, lessen stigma, and enhance access to reasonably priced early intervention treatments.

“Autism is neither a one-size-fits-all condition, nor is it a result of poor parenting.

Children with autism are not less than others; they just experience and engage with the world differently. With compassion, understanding, patience, and the right kind of care, they may flourish. Empathy and inclusivity have a significant impact, according to Mrs. Benjamin.

Children are saved by vaccines; they are not harmed, according to experts

Dr. Adekunle Saheed Adediran, a consultant pediatrician and head of clinical services at the Federal Medical Center Abeokuta, has denied that immunizations have harmed or killed infants.

He emphasized that children’s delayed speech or autism are not caused by the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, maintaining that immunization prevents death and impairments such as blindness, deafness, speech difficulties, and paralysis.

In a poor country like Nigeria, where there are many children under five, a high prevalence of infectious diseases, and inadequate medical facilities, Dr. Adediran argued that the vaccine had helped reduce childhood morbidity and mortality.

“I’ve had no reason to even remotely link these vaccines to delayed speech or autism in my three decades of practice,” he stated.

Global immunization efforts have saved an estimated 154 million lives over the past 50 years, or six lives every minute of every year, according to a 2024 World Health Organization (WHO) assessment published in The Lancet.

The measles vaccination was found to have the greatest effect on lowering infant mortality among the vaccines included in the study, accounting for 60% of the lives saved as a result of immunization.

According to Dr. Adediran, national health authorities continuously monitor the safety of vaccines after they are introduced, ready to identify and address any issues. Before any vaccine is launched, it is subjected to rigorous testing through several clinical trial phases to guarantee it is safe and effective.

“Why a child might have a developmental delay”

The consultant pediatrician noted that the provision of nutrient-dense calories is the primary source of growth in neonates, and their lack or scarcity will have a detrimental effect on both physical and mental development.

He continued by saying that excessive screen time in infants and young children can be linked to delayed speech and language development. He emphasized that although there are many contributing factors, any child experiencing delayed milestones should see a pediatrician for a comprehensive evaluation, emphasizing that they are qualified to determine the cause.

“Proper nutrition no doubt promotes optimal growth and development in children: exclusive breastfeeding from birth till 6 months of age, introduction of adequate complementary feeding from 6 months and continued breastfeeding for 2 years and beyond.

“Delayed speech and language development in infants and young children may be linked to excessive screen time.” Studies on toddlers have verified this.

Children learn best when they engage with adults in real life, and passive screen time does not offer this. According to him, young children’s screen time should be restricted and accompanied by an adult who actively engages the child by explaining and debating with them while encouraging positive interaction.

In the meantime, Dr. Adediran urged the media to assist in disseminating accurate vaccine information in order to combat misinformation and suggested that immunization education be incorporated into regular hospital health talks, particularly during prenatal care for pregnant women. He believed that this would give them the chance to ask questions and address concerns in a transparent manner.