Even as the Union Health Ministry is all set to re-open the three closed public sector vaccine units in the country, a significant hurdle in the administration of the BCG Vaccine Lab in Chennai may hold up the ministry's initiative.
When two of the three institutes, Pasteur Institute at Coonoor in Nilgiris and Central Research Institute at Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh have regular directors to manage them, the decades old BCG Vaccine Lab in Chennai does not have anybody in the top most post.
After the production was stopped in the unit last year, the ministry had transferred its director, Dr N Elangeswaran, from that position to senior specialist in the Microbiology Department at the Central Government Health Services Institute, Chennai.
Later the charge of the director at the BCG was given additionally to Dr C D Vinod Kumar, a medical officer of the Central Health Institute, Chennai just to look after the day to day affairs of the Institute. He is not only unfamiliar with vaccine production, but also not worked in any of the PSUs previously, according to certain staff in the BCG.
Now the ministry in the centre has decided to revive the unit, but the in-charge has gone on long leave at this crucial time, said sources close to the unit.
They said there is nobody to take responsibility of renovation work as there is nobody at the helm. "The office staff do come and sign the register as a routine work and go to their quarters. At the time of health ministry's order to revamp the unit, the in charge stopped coming to office. That means he is not co-operating with the decision of the government or not interested to revive it," said a staffer.
In the meantime five supervisors of the Institute have gone to Delhi on Monday to meet some health ministry officials following the decision to revive the unit.