Tamil Nadu Health Development Association (TNHDA), an NGO comprising doctors and health activists for creating health awareness among the common people, is planning to launch agitations to revive the three public sector vaccine manufacturing units (BCG Lab Chennai, PII Conoor and CRI Kasauli) which were closed by the central government in January this year after adverse comments from WHO on quality of medicines manufactured from these units.

To press for its demand to revive these units, the TNHDA office-bearers had met separately DCGI Dr Surinder Singh and parliament member Brinda Karat when they visited these units recently.

TNHDA president and former director of Institute of child health, Tamil Nadu Dr C S Rex Sargunam said the closure of these institutes have benefited private companies in the country and alleged that government was helping big companies like Serum Institute, Pune, which is the leading institute producing DPT group of vaccines. Now they have started producing BCG also.

But the private firms are not promoting these vaccines because most of these diseases are affecting the poor only. Instead they are promoting the vaccine against Haemophilus influenza B (Hib), which is required for preventing pneumonia and brain fever among infants due to HIB bacteria.

The former director of paediatric institute commented that so far no scientific study had been done in India regarding prevalence of diseases caused by H- influenza- B. The manufacturers in the private sector, WHO and Government authorities are following the advice of the multinationals regarding this vaccine and crores of rupees are expending for promotional activities, he said. The vaccine costs Rs 400 for one dose. The schedule prescribed is minimum three to four doses.

The three closed Institutes were producing the essential vaccines for the immunization program of the country such as BCG, DPT, DT and TT, and other vaccines like Anti-rabies, J E, vaccine against yellow fever and anti snake venom.

The anti-tuberculosis Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine produced in the BCG Lab in Guindy was being supplied to the entire country for the immunization program. The CRI Kasauli was the only institute producing JE (Japanese Encephalitis) vaccine other than China. Now it is imported from China. The vaccine is used for brain fever due to JE virus.

Briefing about the programs that the TNHDA is planning to hold, Dr Sargunam said the Union Health Ministry is now engaged in promoting combination vaccine, that is, Pentavalent Vaccine (DPT, Hepatitis- B and H- influenza- B) whose efficacy and rational use is concerned, he said, hitherto no scientific study has been done and alleged that the accepted schedule of the vaccines were altered to accommodate this Penta vaccine.

According to TNHDA office-bearers, due to the systematic and smooth conduct of immunization in Tamil Nadu, the state is now free from diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough) tetanus, polio and brain TB. They said previously brain TB was found common in children and was completely eradicated because of administering BCG vaccines produced in the Guindy Lab. All these were able to achieve because of the operations of the three vaccine manufacturing units in the country and the infants below one year were immunised free of cost under the Universal Immunisation programme.

Dr Sargunam argued that since the three vaccine units were served suspension orders, the Union Government has to purchase these vaccines from private companies giving high prices. Since the government funds are limited, it cannot afford the same coverage in the immunisation programme as persisted earlier. He said the reason that forced the government of Tamil Nadu to shift the immunization program from rural areas of the State to its Public Health Centres after the Thiruvalluvar incident, is because of the high prices required to buy the vaccines from the private companies. He alleged the government was taking advantage of the incident. Since the immunization is held in the hospitals, the turn out will be very low as compared to rural areas where the health workers voluntarily used to go to the interior areas to administer the shots.