Two weeks ago, when M. Sridevi tried to buy a flu vaccine for her 10-year-old daughter, she was told that stocks had run out. “I tried two different clinics in Perambur, but both said they were out of stock. My daughter is fine, but I wanted the swine flu vaccine as a precautionary measure,” the advocate said.
Doctors in the city say that, over the last few weeks, they have seen an influx of apprehensive parents wanting to know about the H1N1 vaccine and getting their children immunised, leading to a shortage of the shots in private pharmacies.
According to Janani Shankar, senior consultant paediatrician, Kanchi Kamakoti Childs Trust Hospital, about 50 or 60 panicking parents come in every day, asking if they should get the vaccine for their children. “An H1N1 test is only required if the child is disproportionately ill or has a lot of respiratory distress. The vaccine is not required for otherwise healthy children. Thanks to overuse, stocks of the vaccine are also running out in the private sector,” she said.The vaccine is only recommended for high-risk groups of children, said Padma Appaji, consultant paediatrician, Vijaya Hospital. “Children with diabetes, renal problems or those on long-term steroids and immunosuppressants as well as infants can take it,” she said.
Exam season and worries that children will fall sick now are adding to the panic, doctors said.
Pharmacy distributors admitted that stocks were on the low side but said the situation would ease out next week. “Before this virus began circulating, there was hardly any demand for the vaccine. We found it difficult to sell existing supplies,” said one distributor.
Authorities with the directorate of drugs control, however, said, they have not received any reports of a shortage and that there were adequate stocks of the H1N1 medication, Oseltamivir. Health officials have told people that there is no need to panic as H1N1 is a seasonal, circulating virus and cases are expected to decline as summer sets in.
