Absence of Anti Rabies Vaccine (ARV) in the Government Doon Medical College hospital is causing problems to the patients of animal bite.
On Tuesday, a notice stating "ARV is not available" was placed outside the injection room of the hospital where these vaccines are administered.
The vanishing act of the vaccine is triggered by the stinginess of state health directorate in providing these vaccines to the hospital. It is learnt that the health directorate is providing these vaccines to the hospital in minuscule quantities from last one year.
The chief Pharmacist of the hospital, K C Kukreti said that the stock of the ARV has vanished in the hospital and the higher authorities have been informed about it.
The Medical Superintendent (MS) of the hospital Dr K K Tamta said that 300 vials of the vaccine were purchased locally by the hospital recently. He said that the arrangements for more vaccines would be soon made.
More than 125 patients visit the hospital per day for the vaccine needed for animal bite cases from different parts of the State. In absence of the vaccine they had to get the life saving vaccine injected from private hospitals.
The ARV is administered intra dermal or intra muscular four times in a fixed schedule on an animal bite victim. The vaccine is injected on 0, 3 ,7 and 28 day of the animal bite.
The vaccine is injected free of cost in the Government hospitals where there is facility of cold storage.