An Argentinian boy who appeared in a nationwide vaccination campaign died suddenly at age four earlier this month, with his mother blaming medical malpractice after doctors misdiagnosed her son’s condition.
Santino Godoy Blanco, 4, tragically died on November 4. An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be bilateral pneumonia.
Santino happened to appear in the Argentinian Ministry of Health’s national vaccination campaign against polio, measles, mumps and rubella, and appeared in posters promoting “activa vacunas,” or “up-to-date vaccines.”
Various Argentinian newspapers detailed Santino’s mother’s heartbreaking attempts to get her son medical attention when he got sick, only to be sent home after being told he was merely suffering a flu.
Reports explained how Santino’s health gradually then suddenly deteriorated, from a laryngitis diagnosis characterized by fever, later to be told he was experiencing gastroenterocolitis.
After being administered a “serum,” Santino was sent home but later continued vomiting.
“His state was weak. He didn’t want to eat and he faded into his mother’s body. He could still speak,” reported Argentina’s largest newspaper Clarín.
Read More: Can’t Make This Up: Toddler Poster Boy for Vaccine Campaign Dies Suddenly
