The maiden consignment of H1N1 vaccine (injectable) will arrive on Indian shores next month. But the vaccine, which will come from French pharma company Sanofi Aventis, will not be available for the common man right away.
Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was in Pune on Sunday to launch the pulse polio campaign of the Pune zilla parishad, told DNA that doses will be first provided to the high risk groups like doctors, health care workers, etc, who are most vulnerable to contract the H1N1 infection.
According to health ministry officials, around 1.5 million doses will reach India in mid-February. “The vaccine will be given mainly to the doctors because they are at high risk of contracting the infection and often face occupational hazards,” the official added.
The official confirmed that the Drug Controller General of India has finished the procedure of procuring the vaccine. The official, however, said that the common man will have to wait till the indigenous vaccine is launched in the country.
“This is because the number of general public is huge and categorising the high risk group is a mammoth task. So we have to wait till the indigenous vaccine is made,” the official said, adding that by March-April the indigenous swine flu vaccine would be made available for people.
Also, once the indigenous vaccine is out again priority will be given to individuals from the high risk groups like pregnant women, senior citizens and children.
According to Sunil Khaparde, commissioner of immunisation programme, Union ministry of health and family welfare, all health care workers will attend a sensitisation once the imported vaccine arrives. The workshop will be conducted at the central and state level.
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