‘No quick decision on swine flu prevention’: Doctors

Vaccine-makers, apart from Serum Institute, reported meagre sales in the last few years.

swine flu, swine flu prevention, swine flu vaccine

A vendor sells masks in Kolkata on Thursday.

A vaccine for swine flu was made available after painstaking research and yet the government did not make use of it and now there is a demand for the same vaccine, huge batches of which the manufacturers had to destroy because they had passed their expiry date. Enough to make Dr Cyrus Poonawalla see red at the lack of vision of those responsible for taking crucial decisions in the health ministry at the centre and the state. Now there are not enough vaccines to cater to the demand. Had the right decision been taken, so many lives could have been saved.

Dr Poonawalla said not taking a quick decision to provide the vaccine cost dear. “Now, the disease outbreak spans the whole country, and we have limited supply of the vaccine,’’ said the founder and managing director of Serum Institute, which has made the vaccine available.

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NasoVac — a vaccine against swine flu (H1N1 virus) was indigenously developed by Serum Institute when the pandemic had taken over 1,000 lives in 2009-10. It is administered as a nasal spray that helps develop antibodies against the virus. According to experts, it can fight the disease even if small changes occur in the H1N1 virus.

The sale target initially was 20-25 million doses and the institute had donated vaccines worth Rs 10 crore to hospitals and NGOs at the height of the swine flu pandemic. Over the last one-two years, there have been few takers for the vaccine and researchers at the institute had to destroy millions of doses of the stockpile of vaccine.

Vaccine-makers, apart from Serum Institute, reported meagre sales in the last few years. “Only last December, we had to destroy several million doses and now we have become cautious about producing large volumes,” Dr Poonawalla said.

“Further, based on statements of ministers that there was no requirement for a vaccine, we decided not to go for large-scale production. So now, we do not have adequate stock despite the countrywide swine flu outbreak,” Poonawalla said. “Vaccines take time to be developed and the current situation has been caused simply because there is no clear government policy on the issue,” he added.

With the sudden rise in H1N1 cases and deaths in the last two months, the demand for the vaccine shot up. H1N1 influenza has killed more than 1,500 people this year as against 218 in 2014. In Maharashtra, there have been 264 deaths since January and 3,135 persons were detected with swine flu.

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Two batches of 65,000 doses each of the vaccines are out in the market, and the third and final batch will be released in a day or two. According to the Food and Drug Administration Assistant Commissioner S S Mohite, Pune was able to get a share of 2,200 doses, while the vaccine was sent as per order to other states. “Wholesalers in the city asked for 50,000 doses for Pune, but the next batch is also of 65,000 doses and most of them are being sent to other states,” Mohite said.
State health officials said that their technical expert group is drafting a proposal to ensure high-risk people — including pregnant women and senior citizens — are vaccinated. “We are sending a proposal to the centre so that a decision can be taken,”a senior official said.

TWO MORE DEATHS

Two more deaths were registered by Pune Municipal Corporation taking the H1N1 death toll to 54 since January, of which 28 were from Pune city. The rest had sought come for treatment from other places. Sixty-year-old Sulabai Bhujbal of Ahmednagar who had cold, cough and fever died of pneumonia and septic shock at Inlaks and Budhrani hospital on Friday. She had been treated at Dr Jagtap and Sahyadri hospital before being shifted to Inlaks. In another case, 45-year-old Shamrao Lalge of Ahmednagar who had fever, cough and bodyache died at Noble hospital at Hadapsar. Of the 82 admitted to hospital, 21 are on ventilator support.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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