The Hindu : Front Page : No vaccine in State hospitals

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 14, 2005

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Front Page

No vaccine in State hospitals

G.V. Ramana Rao

VIJAYAWADA: Eight-year-old Sobhita had no idea of the trouble she would cause to her family when she was bitten by a stray dog in Tatigumma village of Krishna district on Sunday night. The girl's parents have been running from pillar to post to get the expensive anti-rabies vaccine free of cost. The girl is eligible for the vaccine free of cost, but it was not available in any of the Government healthcare outlets, including Government General Hospital (GGH) in Vijayawada.

The girl's father, Inapamarthi Sangeetha Rao supports the family by working as an agricultural labourer. He took his daughter to an RMP doctor in the village the same night. The RMP gave an injection to prevent the wound from getting infected, but told Mr. Rao that the girl had to be administered the vaccine.

Costly affair

Since his pocket did not permit him to buy the vaccine that costs Rs 300 a dose, Mr. Rao sent her to a Government clinic. There is no way he can get the Rs 1,500 needed for the complete course of five injections spread over 28 days. They went to primary health centre in Veerulapadu at 9 a.m. on Monday and waited for five hours.

The doctor came at 2 p.m. and informed him of the non-availability of the vaccine. Ditto with Nandigama Government Hospital. The girl's mother Udayakumari brought the child to GGH in Vijayawada on Tuesday in the morning only to be told that there was no vaccine available there also.

The GGH stores came up with the same answer when Resident Medical Officer T Anjaneyulu himself followed up the matter. He said that he was helpless because the vaccine was always in short supply. The vaccine was being given only to children below 12 years and pregnant women.

The central drug stores in Guntur supplies the vaccine to all Government hospitals in the region. There are at least half-a-dozen patients being turned away without the vaccine shots on any given day. It was Sobhita's turn on Tuesday.

There is a silver lining to Sobhita's story. A Good Samaritan purchased the first dose of the vaccine for the little girl and the RMO promised to arrange for her the remaining four doses.

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