Bhutan fears return of controversial vaccine
Even though WHO has convinced that deaths of infants were not due to the use of pentavalent vaccine, fear among the natives run high on its re-introduction. To avoid risk, an 11-member committee has been set up to investigate the impact of the vaccine before starting it again.
The health ministry’s “technical committee” is meeting this week to decide on “re-introducing,” the controversial pentavalent vaccine into Bhutan’s immunisation programme.
- Launch of the new Pentavalent vaccine in Bhutan/ The Bhutan Travel.com
The director of public health, Dr Ugen Dophu, said that the 11-member committee, would research, discuss, decide and then advise the immunisation program with the department of public health (DoPH), on the vaccine’s reintroduction. The health ministry suspended the use of pentavalent vaccine on October 23 last year after four deaths were reported. In all, eight deaths were reported.
“Their advice is most valuable,” Dr Ugen Dophu said of the committee that comprises “experts” in pharmacy, the drug regulatory authority, paediatrics, medical specialist and the research unit.
The world health organisation (WHO)’s investigation report in May had said the deaths of infants were not due to the vaccine. “The WHO is the technical advisor for most countries and the health ministry is convinced the deaths were not due to the vaccine,” the public health director said. “But we still need our technical committee’s decision before we start. They have good medical knowledge and we can rely on their decision.”
If the technical committee decides the vaccine’s re-introduction, he said that it would take about two months time to start it again. “All vaccines were recalled to Thimphu, so it has to be distributed again,” he said.
Unlike before, where it was said that parents would be given a choice between the tetravalent vaccine and the pentavalent vaccine, Dr Ugen Dophu said that only one of them would be in the immunisation schedule. “If the pentavalent vaccine is re-introduced, the tetravalent vaccine will be withdrawn,” he said.
This was because the health ministry, he said, cannot afford to buy both the vaccines. “Each dose costs USD 3.23 and Bhutan is paying only 0.23, while the rest of the cost is borne by GAVI,” he said. “The tetravalent vaccine we have in stock will last for only about three months,” Dr Ugen Dophu added.
However, parents would have the choice to “not” immunise their babies. “We have learnt a lesson and we won’t make it compulsory,” the public health director said.
Even after the reintroduction of the vaccine, the health ministry does expect cases of side effects like fever and swelling. “But not deaths due to the vaccine,” Dr Ugen Dophu said. “In Bhutan, there are 140 deaths in every 10,000 births and there may still be deaths from other causes even after the vaccine is reintroduced.”
To implicate that the vaccine is responsible for the deaths after it is reintroduced, an investigation has to be done again. “But it won’t be like last time, where we suspend the vaccine and all,” Dr Ugen Dophu quickly added.
This time, with the improved survellieance of meningo-encephalitis, the disease that was diagnosed as the cause of deaths in the eight infants, and health workers across the country well informed on identifying the signs of the disease, Dr Ugen Dophu said that any such case would be reported and samples tested immediately.
“Meningo-encephalitis is a national concern now,” he said. “It was always there, but before the focus was more on meningitis, which is easier to diagnose and on others like dysentery and diarrhoea.”
