Dear Friends,
If India can afford the Hep B and HiB, we can definitely afford the monodose prefilled syringes. The added advantages of injection safety and no wastage, more than compensate for the cost.
The commitment is most seen in Bihar, where work conditions are poor and ANMs don't get salary for months together, but still they carry on their work and don't go on strikes.
In my research work in Himachal Pradesh (a hill state with sparse population density), I have found that child having returned unimmunised due to not enough children turning up at imm. camp was major factor responsible for delay in immunisation.
Wastage is a non issue. The issue is making the essential life-saving 6 EPI vaccines accessible and available. The credibility of imm. camp is lost if I would be turned away as a client, due to no fault of mine that enough children are not there to open a vial. If we can afford this, there is no point in new vaccine introduction.
Vaccine requirement has to worked out session-wise and not children-wise (especially in sparse population settings). Mathematical formula applcation without micro-level plans will give a wrong impression of wastage.
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Dr RK Sood, Epidemiologist
District AIDS Project Officer Kangra
# 402 C ZH Dharamshala,
District Kangra Himachal Pradesh, India
Mobile: +91 9418064077
Telefax: +91 1892- 225559
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