National
Vaccine dearth ends soon: MoHP
The Ministry of Health and Population said on Thursday that it will soon end the vaccine shortage in the country.The MoHP officials said they have sought help from Unicef to deliver Measles Rubella (MR) and BCG vaccines and they will be available within January first week.
Various districts in the country have reported the shortage of vaccine.
MR vaccine is administered to children aged between nine months and 15 years. Rubella virus is an organism that causes rubella (also known as German measles or three-day measles) which is thought to be a mild childhood illness. According to government data, pregnant women are most vulnerable to Rubella and around 1,400 children are born with disabilities owing to the disease every year.
Children are inoculated with the BCG vaccine against tuberculosis right after their birth. Dr Krishna Poudel, director of Child Health Division, said they have reached an agreement with Unicef after their efforts to call for bidding was turned down by various companies. “For crisis management, we asked Unicef to support 30,000 vials of MR vaccine and also sought quotation from them to buy additional 70,000 vials,” Dr Poudel said. “We will replenish the stock by January first week.”
Currently, the government has been administering 10 vaccines to the newborn for free. Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission has said they are concerned with the vaccine shortage. Stating that its inspection in regional and central stores showed that there were insufficient vaccines, the NHRC urged the government to replenish the stock soon. It also drew the attention of the government to respect the right of every child to have an easy access to immunisation.