Last week, at a private hospital in Mogappair, the mother of a one-and-a-half-year-old was told that the injectable inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) was unavailable. “This is the second time we had gone, and it was still not available. Our doctor told us it may not be available any time soon,” she said. Her daughter has been given the oral polio drops as of now.
Doctors in the city say the IPV has been in short supply for several weeks now. “Children are being given the oral vaccine, but for complete protection of the child from polio, both have to be given. We have been asking parents to come back some time later to get it,” said Janani Sankar, senior consultant paediatrician, Kanchi Kamakoti Childs Trust Hospital.
Deepa Hariharan, paediatrician and neonatologist at Sooriya Hospital, said that the shortage has been a huge problem. “The injectable polio vaccine has not been available for a few months now. It is available as a combination vaccine, but these are quite expensive — one costs Rs. 2,500 or so, and another Rs. 4,800. And it is not necessary to give children the combination vaccine. Also, it’s better to give the DPT vaccine individually rather than in combination with others. We explain this to parents and let them decide what to do. For now, the children are given the polio drops,” she said.
The injectable vaccine is available in spurts, said Padma Appaji, consultant paediatrician, Vijaya Group of Hospitals. “It has not been there for the last 15 days but will be back in a couple of days,” she said.
K. S. Muralidharan, a vaccine distributor, said that the injectable polio vaccine was in short supply as the government took the bulk of it for its vaccination programme. “The demand from the private market is lesser, and the demand and supply don’t match,” he explained. There is no issue at all however, with the oral polio vaccine, he said.
“While the private sector has introduced the injectable vaccine several years ago, people must not panic if the injection is not available and children can take the drops, which are also effective. Once the injection is available they should take at least two doses of it.,” said J.K. Reddy, paediatrician at Apollo Hospital.
Shortage reported
State Director of Drugs Control S. Abdul Khader said the shortage has been noted and reported to the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority.
Experts say efficacy and long-term protection is better with the injectable polio vaccine and it is necessary for the complete eradication of polio. In Tamil Nadu, the injectable polio vaccine was introduced last year, along with a switch from the trivalent oral polio vaccine to the bivalent one. The State has been free of polio for over a decade.
