Doctors refuse swine flu vaccine

[tetano]

By: Alisha Coelho Date: 2010-06-13 Place: Mumbai


Despite its resurgence, doctors working with H1N1 patients decline inoculation

Though BMC officials on Friday admitted that the H1N1 virus had reared its head once again, not all paramedics and doctors working in close range with infected patients at Kasturba Hospital have chosen to get themselves inoculated.

Only 50-odd doctors and hospital staff working in the ICU and isolation wards of the hospital have opted for the vaccine, which has been available to the BMC since mid-May. Two hundred doses have been ordered but doctors wonder if there will be any takers for this new batch.



On Friday, BMC additional municipal commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar said that there is a resurgence of H1N1, with 17 cases of the virus detected and one death recorded since the beginning of June.

Kasturba Hospital superintendent Dr Umesh Aigal is at his wit's end. "Our doctors aren't telling me why they don't want the vaccine, but we can't force anyone."

Meanwhile, private hospitals that had sent indents to the BMC are awaiting their stock of the vaccine. "The BMC had said they have the vaccine and could supply it to us. We're yet to receive the order," said Dr Sujit Chatterjee, CEO, Hiranandani Hospital in Powai, which had set up an isolation ward for patients affected with H1N1.

Same state in Pune

As reported in MiD DAY (H1N1 ka Hero Number 1, April 6), only one doctor out of the 30-odd health workers selected turned up on day 1 of the inoculation programme at Aundh Civil Hospital.
Dr Mangala Gomare, head of BMC's immunisation department, said the general perception is that the virus is not a threat anymore. "Experts are divided on the efficacy of the vaccine," said Gomare.

http://www.mid-day.com/news/2010/jun/130610-doctors-swine-flu-vaccine-mumbai-news-h1n1-patients.htm

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Doctors refuse swine flu vaccine

H1N1 vaccine: two dizzy after, many shaky beforePost CommentLarger | Smaller Pritha Chatterjee
Tags : H1N1 vaccine, hospitals

Posted: Wed Jun 16 2010, 23:57 hrs

RajapaksaRight To Equality?Sea Also CriesThought Control Two nurses of Kasturba Hospital had complained of dizziness after taking the H1N1 vaccine on June 12. One felt faint immediately after the shot; the other complained eight hours later, said Dr Daksha Shah, head of the BMC?s epidemiology cell. Both were admitted to hospital immediately, but tests revealed nothing wrong.


?Some reaction is normal for any vaccine. Besides, with all the hype, doctors and nurses who volunteer are already nervous. These mild side-effects can partly be attributed to this hysteria,? Shah said, adding these were the only complaints registered with the BMC.


In the BMC, neither Dr Daksha Shah nor the deans of the four main civic hospitals have volunteered for the vaccine. Dr M Shah, deputy dean of BYL Nair Hospital, said he saw ?no reason to take the vaccine?. ?If there are reports of side effects, why should I take the risk? I?ll protect myself in other ways, but why should I inject myself with a foreign body?? Dr Daksha Shah said she was ?planning to take the vaccine soon.?
Nearly a month-and-a-half after the BMC started a drive for doctors and paramedics working in H1N1 wards, only 50 have voluntarily taken the vaccine. The Indian version has found no takers in the two weeks since its launch. Dr Umesh Aigal, dean of Kasturba Hospital, said only six medical workers from the city?s nodal swine flu centre have volunteered so far, and only one of them is a doctor.


Fear of side effects is being blamed. ?People also feel they have already been exposed to the virus, so they are immune,? said Dr Mangala Gomare, BMC immunisation officer.


Dr Pradeep Awate, head of the state?s H1N1 control room, said, ?More than 450 doses have been taken in Pune, with no incidents of side effects.?


No awareness programme has been planned to allay worries. If the response had been better, ?we would have worked towards such initiatives,? said Dr V M Kulkarni, assistant director, state health services.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/h1n1-vaccine-two-dizzy-after-many-shaky-before/634349/0

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Doctors refuse swine flu vaccine

Medical staff in state govt hospitals say no to H1N1 vaccine
Umesh Isalkar, TNN, Jun 18, 2010, 07.03am IST


PUNE: The imported doses of the swine flu vaccine, specially procured by the Union government for doctors and paramedical staff, have found few takers in Maharashtra. Only 811 of the state?s 34,300 medical staff involved in treating H1N1 patients took the shots.

This, despite the fact that the state has been the epicentre for the transmission of the virus, which has caused 473 deaths since August 2009, and is likely to become more active during the monsoon.
The Union government has now asked the state health machinery to recall the unutilised doses of the vaccine so that it can be put to use in other parts of the country.

"It is sad that a state like Maharashtra witnessed such a poor response, while states like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Arunchal Pradesh, which have not been so severely affected by swine flu, vaccinated 90 per cent of their medical staff. The directorate of the state health services should look into the reasons for this," Palliri Ravindran, director, Emergency Medical Relief, Directorate General of Health Services, ministry of health, New Delhi, told TOI on Thursday.

The Pune bureau of the state family welfare department had received a consignment of 34,300 doses of the vaccine made by French pharma company Sanofi-Pasteur on March 18. The vaccine was meant only for health care personnel involved in the management of swine flu patients at state government-run hospitals.

"We have started recovering the doses of the vaccine supplied to civil hospitals in the state following an instruction from the Union health ministry. Only 811 health workers, including medical officers and paramedical staff, took the shot of the imported vaccine in Maharashtra," said V M Kulkarni, assistant director of the state health services, and in-charge of the immunisation programme.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ay-no-to-H1N1-vaccine/articleshow/6061419.cms

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Doctors refuse swine flu vaccine

State to 'counsel' doctors to take H1N1 shots
Umesh Isalkar, TNN, Jul 13, 2010, 05.15am IST


PUNE: Doctors and paramedical forces working at state government-run hospitals will now be 'counselled' to take the imported swine flu vaccine, which many have refused to take. The Union health ministry, in a letter to the state government, has asked to make use of the doses of imported vaccine and even stated that 'it is advisable to make the vaccination compulsory to protect the medical staff during the current surge in swine flu cases'.

Earlier last month, the ministry had decided to recall unused doses of a vaccine following the poor response by doctors and paramedical forces in Maharashtra. Only 2,055 of the state's 34,300 medical staff involved in treating H1N1 patients have taken the vaccination till date.

"Following the health ministry's letter on June 23, the directorate of health services has decided to counsel the state's medical staff on a one-on-one basis to take the shot," said V M Kulkarni, assistant director of the state health services and in charge of the immunisation programme. "Even though the health ministry has stated that it is advisable to make the vaccination compulsory, we cannot make it compulsory. Instead a decision to counsel the staff has been taken by the state health directorate on June 30."

Following the decision, the unutilised doses of vaccine recalled from various districts will be returned. Akola, Nagpur, Kolhapur and Nashik have already taken their unused vaccines back. Others will soon follow suit, said Kulkarni.

The Pune Bureau of the State Family Welfare Department had received a consignment of 34,300 imported doses of swine flu vaccine made by French pharma company Sanofi-Pasteur on March 18. The vaccine was meant only for health care personnel involved in the management of swine flu patients at state government-run hospitals in the state as they are at higher risk of contracting the H1N1 infection.

Kulkarni said, "Doubt about the efficacy of the vaccine, doubt about its side effects especially of developing infective polyneuropathy (Guillain-Barr? syndrome) ? a disorder of the nervous system that leads to increasing muscular weakness ? and a clause of written consent prior to taking the vaccine were primarily cited as reasons for not taking the shot." Only two cases of minor vaccine side-effects like giddiness have so far been reported, he added.

"The expiry date of the imported vaccine is October 31, 2010, we need to make use of the imported doses till that date. As many as 16 districts in the state have not vaccinated a single doctor or nurse," said Kulkarni. A meeting of state health officials including district civil surgeons, district health officers, immunisation officers of municipal corporations will held on July 13 and July 14 to boost efforts to vaccinate the state's medical staff, he added.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...rs-to-take-H1N1-shots/articleshow/6161127.cms

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Doctors refuse swine flu vaccine

http://sify.com/news/flu-vaccine-ma...-medical-staff-news-national-khwuafbegcf.html

Flu vaccine: Maharashtra to act tough against reluctant medical staff

2010-07-22 20:00:00
Last Updated: 2010-07-22 20:11:50


Mumbai: Maharashtra government has decided to ask its reluctant medical staff including doctors to give in writing their unwillingness to take the swine flu vaccine.

"The swine flu vaccine is not compulsory, but then we have asked the medical staff including paramedicals and doctors to give it in writing that they do not want to take the vaccine," Health Minister Suresh Shetty informed the Legislative Council.

The minister was replying to a calling attention motion on the issue of spread of diseases like swine flu, malaria and leptospirosis in Mumbai.

Doubting its effectiveness and possible side-effects, many doctors in Maharashtra have refused to take the swine flu vaccine, leaving the State Government with a large stock of vaccines.

The State Government had procured the vaccine from the Centre after the state was hit by H1N1 last year.

The Centre placed an order with a foreign company for 1.5 million doses of H1N1 vaccines in December, mostly to be given to the high-risk group of medical practitioners.

 

[tetano]

Re: Doctors refuse swine flu vaccine

NAGPUR: The H1N1 virus appears to have made a come back. A 34-year-old man from Khapri, who is being treated at the Orange City Hospital and Research Institute, tested positive for the disease two days back. However, the medical staff at the forefront of the fight against H1N1 has refused to take the vaccine being given to them by the government for free.

The latest H1N1 patient in the city is on ventilator. Doctors attending on him say that although his condition has improved in the past few days the patient has a 50% chance of recovering.

As regards the outbreak, the health authorities claim they are better prepared to handle the swine flu with vaccines as well as medicines available in plenty. However, sources said that the medical as well as paramedical staff, who are supposed to get the vaccine free, are not ready to take the vaccine.

"The government had initially made the Paneza vaccine (made in Spain) available for the health workers at all levels as a protective measure. It had made the first batch of the vaccine available in March for the city and all six districts in Nagpur circle. The second batch has come just a few days back. But except for a few hospitals in district places there is no demand at all," said Dr BR Amte, assistant director of health services.

The deputy director of health services (DDHS) had made 250 vaccines available to Nagpur Municipal Corporation health staff, but they are unused. Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) as well as the Indira Gandhi Government Medical College (IGGMC) have also sent the vaccines back. Similarly, from among 1,800 vaccines sent to staff in hospitals at Bhandara, Wardha, Chandrapur and Nagpur district hospitals only 200 have been utilised.

The government is administering the vaccine to staff only with their consent. The health staff is reluctant to take the vaccine in both the medical colleges and other government run clinics.

Though doctors and health workers are not ready to speak on the record, they say that they do not want to take the vaccine due to its side effects. Their objection is that the vaccine is effective for only 9-12 months. Some even say that the vaccine has been brought into the market without the required clinical trials. Government doctors and staff say that in case the virus strikes back with more vigour and intensity, they might think of taking the vaccine.

Meanwhile, some private hospitals like OCHRI have started giving the vaccine free of cost to its staff. "The vaccine which can be taken in the form of spray is available in the market for Rs 100-150. There is no harm in taking the vaccine. We are giving it to our staff," said Dr Anup Marar, director, OCHRI.

At present, besides about 1,800 vaccine doses, the DDHS has a stock of 67,980 tablets, 625 bottles of syrup, 699 personal protection kits and 6,791 N-95 masks to fight any H1N1 outbreak.

Dr Arun Humne, professor and head, preventive and social medicine department of GMCH, told TOI that since last year GMCH has screened 6,489 patients from the onset of the attack. Of these 809 samples have been sent so far to National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune and only 165 tested positive.

However, in the span of more than a year, only 32 patients died due to the disease. Since April this year, only four patients (2 at GMCH, 1 at IGGMC and 1 at OCHRI) have tested positive, including the one presently admitted at OCHRI.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-as-swine-flu-returns/articleshow/6239703.cms