States face acute vaccine shortage after PSU shutdown

In their letter to the Central Health Ministry last month, the affected states and UTs expressed the “urgent” need for supply of vaccines, following the shutting down of the BCG Vaccine Laboratory in Chennai, the Pasteur Institute in Coonoor and the Central Research Institute in Kasauli. More than 80 per cent of the vaccines available in the country were produced by these PSUs.

Several states and UTs claim they are left with less than a month’s stock of Tetanus Toxoid (TT), while supplies of Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and Diphtheria Pertussis Tetanus (DPT) are also running low.

Although sources in the Ministry say they have received the letter from the Health and Family Welfare Department in Delhi, they are yet to respond to it in a definitive manner. “In our report sharing the status of vaccines, we had informed the Union Health Ministry that we have had no stock of TT vaccines as of May 29,” said Dr A K Jaina, director of the department. Although Delhi requires about 21 lakh vaccines ever year, it has only received 4.5 lakh from the Ministry so far.

According to Ministry officials, the license of the vaccine units were suspended by the Drugs Controller General of India, the central license-approving authority of the country, as the WHO had recommended that the laboratories needed to be made Schedule-M compliant.

The All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN) has referred to the closure of the PSUs as a clear invitation to private players, saying that such a step would lead to enormous implications for the cost and accessibility of the vaccines. “While, the Ministry has acted with alacrity and closed down production in PSUs, it has dragged its feet in matter where private pharmaceutical companies are involved.”

IN SHORT SUPPLY

• Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharastra, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Lakshwadeep, Karnataka, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Orissa and Jharkhand have said that they are left with less than a month’s stock of TT, which is usually administered to pregnant women.

• Kerala, Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Delhi, Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharastra and Gujarat are facing a crunch for the DPT vaccine, which is given to infants.

• Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Bihar, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshwadeep are falling short of the BCG vaccine.