Imported vaccine for doctors,paramedics

With the National Institute of Virology NIV admitting that the H1N1 viral transmission has not yet stopped....

With the National Institute of Virology NIV admitting that the H1N1 viral transmission has not yet stopped,imported H1N1 vaccine will soon be administered to the high-risk groups of doctors and paramedics dealing with swine flu patients.

In Pune district,where over 10 lakh people have been screened for H1N1 symptoms,information is being collected from 24 hospitals about the requirement of the imported vaccine. NIV director Dr A C Mishra said transmission of H1N1 virus was still on.

When contacted in New Delhi,Dr V M Katoch,director general,Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR,told The Indian Express that an order of 12-15 lakh doses of the vaccine was placed with Sanofi Pasteur Pharmaceuticals. The safety trials will end soon and the imported vaccine will be administered to healthcare workers by mid-February,Katoch said.

The Centre has now sought information from states regarding their requirement,especially for healthcare workers like doctors and paramedical staff. A questionnaire has been circulated among the healthcare workers whether they want to be immunised against swine flu or not,said Dr D S Dakhure,director,health,Maharashtra.

We have 45,000 people,including doctors,paramedical staff,nurses and other Class IV employees,engaged in the care of patients suffering from swine flu, said Dakhure.

While information is being collected from various districts,the state health authorities have also issued a letter to the medical community about their willingness to be vaccinated against swine flu.

Dr Uddhav Gawhande,assistant director of health services,said in the state there were a total of 5,700 patients who had tested positive while there were 311 deaths due to swine flu.

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Meanwhile,the response to Tamiflu drug in the last five months at private drug stores has been poor. Mahendra Pitaliya,coordinator of the Chemist Association of Pune district,said only 1,274 strips 12,740 capsules have been sold from September 2009 to January 15 this year. Pitaliya attributed the poor sale to the drug being available free of cost at government centres.