2 weeks on,docs,health workers continue to shun H1N1 vaccine

According to Dr VM Kulkarni,assistant health officer,(immunisation),the response has been far from satisfactory. There is apprehension among the doctors and paramedical staff whether they should take the vaccine shots at all,added Dr Pradeep Awate,in-charge of the state surveillance of influenza.

In Pune,so far a total of 109 members of the medical community — including doctors,nurses,technicians and Class IV employees of the Intensive Care Unit—¿ at Aundh General Hospital have taken the vaccine while 91 have taken it at YCM Hospital in Pimpri-Chinchwad. At Sassoon General Hospital,only 24 doctors have taken the vaccin— ¿ eight of them are from Sassoon while the rest are from the Pune Municipal Corporation-run Naidu Hospital.

Kulkarni expressed hope that the numbers may gradually increase,allay the anxiety among other doctors in various districts and motivate them to get vaccinated. The state has procured 34,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine especially for the high-risk population of doctors and paramedics who have been exposed to swine flu patients.

While 300 doses of vaccine were sent to Nanded,only six have opted for the vaccination while a total of 4,000 doses of vaccine had been sent for five districts in the Nashik circle ¿ Dhule,Jalgaon,Nandurbar,Nashik and Nagar. The response has not been very encouraging,with only a few doctors opting for vaccination.

Dr Arun Jamkar,Dean,B J Medical College and Sassoon General hospital said the vaccination is optional. “While we are encouraging the doctors to go ahead and get immunised,there are few takers,” he admitted.

The date of expiry of the vaccine is November this year and hence,said Pradeep Awate,there is another train of thought among the paramedics that like in the US,where the seasonal influenza vaccine is taken every six months as the strain keeps changing,it may have to be the same in India. Already,every fourth person is exposed to the virus in the city and thus most doctors and paramedics feel they have developed an immunity,he added.

Meanwhile,Kulkarni is planning to hold another meeting of district health officials and has been monitoring the response. “Even if the number is zero,we have been urging the districts to send daily reports,” he said.