Indian Express 18.05.2010
Plenty of swine flu vaccines, not one volunteer to take them
Jinal Shah Tags : health, swine flu Posted: Wed May 19 2010, 02:51 hrs
Mumbai: On Day One of the swine flu vaccination drive for healthcare professionals, the BMC found the vaccine had no takers. Over 2,000 city-based professionals, who had worked in isolation wards and screening centres when the virus had first struck, had consented to taking the vaccine, but none turned up.The screening ward in Kasturba Hospital, the nodal hospital for treatment of swine flu, has been converted into a vaccination centre. Doctors from the epidemiology cell waited in vain from morning till four in the evening. “Since Kasturba Hospital was the epicenter for swine flu during its peak, we have started the vaccination centre there. We have just opened the ward it will take at least three to four days for doctors and paramedical staffers like ward boys, nurses who are considered to be in the high risk category, and others to come. We have sent circulars to all BMC, state-run and private hospitals where swine flu cases were reported to send their medical professionals to Kasturba Hospital,” said Dr Daksha Shah, head of the BMC’s epidemiology cell.
The BMC vaccination programme comes 11 months after Mumbai had its first swine flu case, with the scare having gone and the cases having declined to nil.
Dr Shah, in charge of swine flu vaccination in Mumbai, said the vaccines are stored at 2-4°C in the EPI department. Before the vaccines were procured from French manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur by the Centre, experts had questioned whether medical professionals did need a vaccine and whether this vaccine, tested abroad, would be safe for Indians.
Some experts had expressed concern that the vaccine could have serious side effects like the Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) - a rare disease in which the body damages its own nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. A Central committee will deal with adverse effects, if any, following immunisation.
“According to the guidelines issued by the Government of India, doctors giving the vaccines will have to take details of the beneficiary on pregnancy and breastfeeding, and whether he or she is allergic to chicken or eggs, as the vaccines have been prepared from some such constituents. Also, if the beneficiary has been vaccinated for any other disease, he or she will not be given the swine flu vaccine for some time to prevent side effects,” said Dr Shah.
Of the total 34,000 medical staff in the state working on swine flu cases, only about 5,000 have been willing to take the vaccine.
The state received 34,300 doses, each worth Rs 316, about two months ago. “The vaccines were distributed to districts where swine flu cases were reported. Till Thursday about 372 beneficiaries are immunised in Pune, Nanded and Dhule,” said Dr V M Kulkarni, in charge of the swine flu vaccination programme.
