HYDERABAD: There is a perceptible improvement in the reach of the
family welfare department’s immunisation programme, from about 45
per cent in the early 1990s to over 58 per cent now. However, this
has ironically lead to an increased wastage of vaccine.
The Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccine, essentially a
tuberculosis vaccine, is given within the first few weeks of child
birth or at least within the first year.
This vaccine, auxiliary nurse mid-wife (ANMs) claim, often gets
wasted due to large multi-dose vials.
With the immunisation programme being increasingly carried out at
all primary health centres (PHC) and government hospitals, there are
more takers for the immunisation.
“As a result, ANMs who go to ‘out-reach centres’ manage to get only
a few children to be immunised,” additional director of medical and
health services at the Commissionerate of Family Welfare Dr G Mastan
Rao said.
Each kit contains 20 ampules of the vaccine and once the dried
vaccine pellet is diluted, the doses have to be administered within
24 hours.
Generally, an ANM gets to immunise only three or four children per
day. “Hence the rest of the dose gets wasted,” said Rao citing
reasons for the huge wastage of the vaccine.
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the central and state
government allow a wastage of BCG vaccine up to 50 per cent, the
wastage in Andhra Pradesh is about 70 per cent,” Rao said.
Keeping in view the advantages of immunisation as against the
wastage of vaccine, the commisionerate issued an order in January
stating that a BCG ampule can be used even if there is only one
child, but preferably there should be four to five children who can
be immunised at one go.
TOP
