Ramadoss gone,pentavalent vaccine may be put off

Health Secretary Naresh Dayal says that vaccine would be included in the National Immunisation Programme before the end of the year.

“At present,it is difficult to get Cabinet approvals. We are also looking at the availability,depending on which domestic tenders will be floated soon. Meanwhile,We are negotiating with the World Bank to get some funding,” he said.

The Health Ministry had decided last year to introduce the pentavalent vaccine so as to protect children from Haemophilus Influenza type B (HIB),the bacteria which causes illnesses like meningitis,pneumonia and septic arthritis. So far,more than 130 countries have shifted to pentavalent vaccines while India still uses tetravalent vaccines in its national immunisation programme.

The idea to introduce HIB was mooted two years back after which a technical committee was set up to look at the feasibility of introducing it. “We fully endorse the introduction of the HIB vaccine. However,the challenge is procurement,” said Dr M K Bhan,secretary,Department of Biotechnology.

The ministry had planned to introduce the vaccine in 10 states with the highest coverage. These states are Tamil Nadu,Kerala,Karnataka,Maharashtra,Goa,West Bengal,Andhra Pradesh,Gujarat,Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. “Since supply may be a constraint,we decided to introduce it in a phased manner. After covering these 10 states,it will be introduced all over the country,” added Dayal.

Dr Vinod Kumar Paul,Professor and head of the Department of Paediatrics at AIIMS says 20 per cent of the under-five mortalities is due to pneumonia and since the HIB virus causes pneumonia,introducing the vaccine is an important call.