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| Anti-rabies vaccine unavailable at GMC Kathua for over six months | | Common masses forced to purchase costly injection from open market | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, July 1: The district Kathua has got a Government Medical College (GMC) which presently functions from the premises of District Hospital Kathua is unable to cater to the needs of the patients as anti-rabies vaccine, a key injection, is unavailable there for the last over six months.
The unavailability of the vaccine has been forcing the common masses, especially the poor people to bank upon the private shops to purchase vaccines by shelling out huge amounts of money.
The patients visiting the District Hospital Kathua informed Early Times that they visited the district hospital following a dog-bite. “Though it was a pet dog but was not vaccinated so when we visited the doctor, he prescribed anti-rabies vaccination but there was no vaccine available in the hospital and we were asked to bring anti-rabies dose from the open market”, a patient said.
Another patient said that the doctors prescribed five doses of anti-rabies vaccine while one injection costs Rs 350. “One patient has to shell out Rs. 1750 for vaccination, which is a huge amount and is not affordable for a labourer or daily rated worker or even the shopkeepers, who had incurred huge losses due to lockdown”, the patient said, adding that what was the purpose of starting GMC Kathua, when even the anti-rabies vaccine could not be made available there.
The administration should think over the issue and provide sufficient anti-rabies vaccine so that poor people would not suffer.
Sources informed Early Times that for the last over six months the anti-rabies vaccine was not available in the hospital, due to which the patients have to purchase the doses from open market. Earlier the Chief Medical Officer Kathua was providing the supply of anti-rabies vaccine to District Hospital Kathua but after the GMC started functioning in Kathua the vaccine was purchased through GMC. Medical Superintendent Kathua, Dr Chitra Vashnavi admitted that the anti-rabies vaccine was not available for the last few months. She added that they had sent the requirements for supply of vaccines in the month of February but so far the vaccine supply was not being made.
Principal, Government Medical College Kathua Dr Anjali Nadir Bhat said that she has joined recently but added that it would be due to the emphasis of administration to contain the COVID-19 infection. She assured that she would look into the matter and take appropriate actions.
Managing Director Jammu and Kashmir Medical Supplies Corporation Limited, Dr. Yashpaul Sharma said that usually the Medical Colleges procure vaccines on their own. He said that he could only reply after going through records that whether the GMC Kathua has sent any requisition to the Corporation for purchase of anti-rabies vaccine or not. |
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