The Parliamentary Panel attached to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has once again pointed out the case of shortage of vaccines and the rise in their prices following the suspension of production licenses of the three public sector vaccine manufacturing units. But the ministry of health has said that it already secured a buffer stock for three months.

“The Committee notes that the Ministry has finally acknowledged the drastic rise in cost of vaccines in 2009-10. The Committee would like to state here that in its 38th Report, it had pointed out to the unacceptably drastic increase in the procurement rates of BCG, DPT and TT Vaccines in 2009-10. It escapes the Committee’s comprehension as to why the entities concerned did not take recourse to a reasoned analysis of these factors before suspending the licenses of the three PSUs in the name of non-compliance of cGMP norms. The Committee feels that the least the Department should have done is to play a pro-active role in stabilizing the prices of vaccines in view of the fact that the vaccines, required under the Universal Immunisation Programme, fall under essential category,” according to the latest report by the panel.

“The Committee is pained to note that the passive role played by the Department subjected the prices of these vaccines to become captive to private entities. Undeniably, the private sector units that were awarded the contract of vaccine supply during the closure of the vaccine producing PSUs embarked upon making super-normal profits during 2008-09 and especially during 2009-10. The Committee feels that enforcing the excessively high cost of these vaccines on the public has been an erroneous move and has hit the pockets of the poor and marginalized people adversely,- as also the Government exchequer,- thereby defeating the very motive of welfare. The Department has informed in its Action Taken Reply that production of BCG, DPT, DT and TT vaccines at CRI Kasauli, BCGVL Guindy and PII Coonoor are in full swing since July 2010. The Committee fails to comprehend the reasons for procurement of vaccines from these PSUs at the same rate as was being procured from the private manufacturers during 2009-10, as is evident from the data supplied by the Department. It has, however, been informed that the final rates would be decided by Ministry of Finance,” it said.

Now that the vaccine-producing PSUs have begun production, the Committee recommends that a reasonable estimate of the cost of these vaccines be made and their prices be brought down from the rates at which they were procured during 2010-11, so that the economically weaker and marginalized people are not put through further hardships. The Committee also views with concern the considerable gap in the quantum of orders for different vaccines placed with public sector units vis-à-vis private manufacturers in 2010-11. This crucial aspect also needs to be given the required attention while placing the orders during 2011-12, it said.

The government in its action take report submitted to the panel headed by Brajesh Pathak said that procurement of vaccines was made for 15 months of which three months quantity was kept as buffer for the delayed/late supply in the beginning of the next financial year.  While analyzing the impact of the closure of the three public sector vaccine producing units on the UIP, it has been stated that a number of States like Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Punjab, West Bengal and Kerala did face shortfall of BCG, DPT, TT, OPV and Measles vaccine during 2008-09. As a result, the Ministry had to draw on the buffer stock available with these States, the ministry said.