At least four to five infants out of 10 get a shot of BCG ( Bacille Calmette Guerion) vaccination with the Inactivated Polio Vaccination syringe instead of the mandatory and specific syringe for BCG vaccination the Auto Disabled syringe (ADS) in Palamu.
Sources in Palamu said the situation has arisen because of the short supply of Auto Disabled Syringe of 0.1 ml capacity.
Auto Disabled Syringe is used for one shot of BCG vaccination and thereafter it gets locked and cannot be used at all. To put it simple one dose of BCG injection means use of one AD syringe!
Palamu has received only 3,200 AD syringes this October 26 along with 8,000 doses of BCG vaccination. Sources said if one goes by the doses of BCG vaccination then there must be 8,000 AD syringes too. The short fall is 4,800 AD syringes.
Director State Rural Health Mission under the aegis of NRHM Amitabh Kaushal when approached said, “I will look into this matter at the earliest.”
A Store Room staff of the Sadar Hospital in Daltonganj Ashwani Kumar Dubey confirmed the receipt of only 3,200 AD syringes as against the 8,000 doses of BCG vaccination on October 26.A UNICEF consultant here in Daltonganj Manish K Priyadarshi too has conceded that state government sends in far less number of AD syringes for BCG vaccination. Acting Civil Surgeon Palamu Hemant Kumar said, “I am not fully aware of this. Meet UNICEF official Manish.”
Manish said, “One vial of BCG vaccination has ten injections for ten infants. But ten infants never get this. Maximum four to five infants get BCG vaccination from one vial. The rest of BCG vaccination for 5 infants in one vial goes waste. A vial of BCG vaccination once opened is usable for only four hours in the field and if in these four hours ten infants do not turn up the vial is a waste after 4 hours of its opening.”
He gave one more reason behind BCG vaccination going waste per vial when he said, “The BCG vaccination is re constituted and in this reconstitution the vacciine is wasted.”
Asked what relation is between wastage of BCG vaccination and short fall of AD syringes Manish said, “The government understands that BCG vaccination being done in field like Village Health & Nutrition Days in villages AD syringes remain unused for infants not turning up there and thus this short supply of AD syringes can be met with.”
The explanation looked hollow and unconvincing as a child specialist begging to be unnamed and working in the town Daltonganj said, “This reason for short supply of AD syringes is rejectable at first sight since this short fall of AD syringes has led to the use of syringe for polio vaccination in place of AD syringes.”