With 15 states and several union territories voicing their concern about the severe shortage of vaccines following the closure of public sector manufacturing units by the Health Ministry in January, the Government is now looking towards private players to meet the demands of the affected states.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said the matter would soon be resolved. “Instructions have been given to officials to ensure that there is no shortage. The Ministry officials are working on the logistics of procuring the vaccines and I don’t think there will be any problem.”

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.

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