The People for Economical and Effective Medicare (PEEM), a voluntary health promotional trust, has raised concern over the side-effects of Hepatitis-B vaccine administered to infants under the immunization programme. Hepatitis-B vaccine has been included in the second phase of the Children's Vaccination Programme under the Partnership Programme of the Government of Andhra Pradesh and the Seattle-based Programme for Apropriate Technology in Health (PATH) being funded by the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation.

Addressing a press conference, Dr P V R Bhaskar Rao, chairman of PEEM, described Hepatitis-B campaign as a farce and unnecessary. It was well-known that there were adverse effects like nausea, fatigue, severe attack of paralysis and sudden death. In the US, the vaccine was no more administered unless the child was born to infected mothers. Keeping in view the side-effects, the US Congress had included the vaccine in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Programme in August 1997.

Referring to alarming reports from New Zealand, France and other countries on the ill-effects of the vaccine, the PEEM chief said France had suspended Hepatitis-B vaccination of school children four years ago. Dr Rao, therefore, asked the Bill Gates Foundation to pay compensation to the affected children, if there were any in the state. He regretted that the state government had not adopted any compensation policy though the side-effects of the vaccine were known throughout the world. He said there was no registry of the children who were given the vaccine, no studies about the effectiveness of the vaccine in the state and no information education and communication (IEC) activities carried out.

PEEM representatives appealed to all the parents of children who had received the vaccine to claim damages of Rs 25 lakh from the Gates Foundation in case the children developed any side-effects.

PEEM vice-chairman Dr K Venugopal said premature and under-weight children and infants with respiratory infections and allergies should not be given the vaccine. He also wanted the government to ensure that children were not prone to the side-effects of the vaccine which is administered under the compulsory vaccination programme.

According to the National Vaccination Information Centre (NVIC) report, the protective effect of the vaccine was still unknown, Dr Venugopal said. The state government and the Gates Foundation were using children of the state as guinea pigs.