Anti-rabies vaccine still out of stock at govt clinics in Chandigarh

Around 150 anti-rabies injections are needed per day at the three government facilities in Sectors 16, 19 and 38

Already concerned over the increasing cases of dog bite, the residents of Chandigarh are even struggling to get anti-rabies shots at the city’s government clinics as the injections have been out of stock for over a week now.

Dog-bite victims are being asked to purchase the vaccine from private chemists for ₹300 per shot.

Due to unavailability of the drug at the clinics in Sectors 19 and 38, and at Government Multi-Specialty Hospital in Sector 16, the victims are being asked to purchase the injection from private chemist shops, which cost over ₹300 per injection. As per the UT health department, around 150 anti-rabies injections are used per day at the three clinics.

Dinesh Kumar, a Sector-10 resident, said, “A dog had bitten me on May 31 and my fourth anti-rabies vaccine dose was due on Monday. I reached the Sector 19 centre at 9am, the in-charge reached at 9.15am. By the time the centre opened, a huge rush of victims was witnessed and no social distancing was followed. After filling the details on my card, the doctor told me that the vaccine was unavailable at the centre.”

“The doctor then told me to buy an injection from a nearby chemist shop. One injection bottle cost ₹330 and since it contains two doses, I had to ask someone else to share,” Kumar added.

A woman in her late 40s told the Hindustan Times that she visited the Sector-19 centre last week, but the vaccine was still unavailable. Meanwhile, a similar situation was noticed in the Sector 38 clinic.

Dr Paramjyoti, in-charge of the Sector-19 dispensary, said, “Not only the city residents but people from neighbouring states also visit the centre to get the anti-rabies vaccine. Also, when vaccines get dried up at Sector-38 and 16 hospitals, people visit our centre. On an average, Sector 19 centre reports 45-50 dog bite cases every day. We had placed the order for vaccine stock, but due to Covid-19, the supply from Mumbai got delayed.”

When contacted, Dr Amandeep Kang, director health services, said, “We had placed a purchase order for the vaccines with a firm, who were supposed to deliver the stock a few days ago, but it got delayed. We bought emergency stock on Monday and vaccines have been made available in all the centres. We are expecting to receive more doses in a day or two.”