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Shortage of influenza vaccines in PMC
Health experts in Pune are urging residents to get vaccinated against influenza amid rising cases due to inclement weather. However, the Pune Municipal Corporation has been awaiting a vaccine supply for the last couple of months after running out of its stock in January. The high price of the vaccine is also deterring some people from getting vaccinated. Free doses are available at PMC-run hospitals, maternity homes and dispensaries for high-risk people including expecting mothers, healthcare workers, elderly patients with comorbidities and those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Pune: Amid rising cases of influenza due to inclement weather, health experts have appealed to residents to get vaccinated against the infection. However, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) awaits supply of the vaccine since last couple of months. The civic body ran out of its stock in January this year.
The district civil surgeon recently received 1,000 influenza vaccine doses. Influenza vaccine or flu shots are vaccines which give protection against the four related viruses – two subtypes of influenza A and two lineages of influenza B. The vaccine doses are given free of cost to high-risk people—expecting mothers, healthcare workers, elderly patients with comorbidities like diabetes, asthma, obesity, hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, among other things. The free doses are available at PMC-run hospitals, maternity homes and dispensaries.
Dr Suryakant Deokar, PMC assistant health officer, said, “We have requested the state officials to provide us with flu shots as we have to turn away those who visit health centres for vaccination. We have been following up the request with the officials since a while.”
The health officials have witnessed a surge in the number of H3N2 and H1N1 infection cases in the city. The recent increase in flu cases has been seen across various age groups, affecting children, the middle-aged population, and the elderly alike – although the intensity of symptoms differs. Influenza is a vaccine-preventable disease and it’s a must for high-risk people. The high price of the influenza vaccine is turning out to be a deterrent for people seeking to get the shot. The prices of the doses range from ₹1,500 to ₹4,000 at private health facilities in the city.
Dr Bhagwan Pawar, PMC health officer, said the around 3,010 flu shots received from the state authorities in January got exhausted after reports of the spread of influenza across the country left residents to rush for civic medical centres for vaccination.
“We are following up the issue with the state health department for vaccine supply. I will speak to officials soon,” he said.
Dr Nagnath Yempalay, district civil surgeon, said that the influenza vaccine is given to pregnant women, health workers, elderly people and people with co-morbidity at the Aundh district hospital.
“We have recently received 1,000 flu shots. But the stock is for government-run facilities in the district. There was a surge in flu cases in January and February that led to demand for the shots. If we receive the request from the local bodies, we can provide them the vaccine shots,” he said.
