Division receives 9,800 flu vaccine doses, Nagpur district gets bulk share

NAGPUR: The Nagpur circle of health services comprising six districts has received 9,800 doses of quadrivalent flu vaccine amid swine flu resurgence, mainly in Nagpur. Over 60 cases of swine flue have been reported in Nagpur alone. Pregnant women, elderly, comorbid and healthcare workers (HCWs) are bracketed as high-risk population for H1N1 influenza virus.
TOI was the first to report about unavailability of the flu shots on July 31. Though more batches of vaccine are expected to arrive in the coming days, the first consignment is likely to be utilized quickly. Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has been allotted 5,000 doses, leaving the rest for Nagpur rural, Wardha, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Gondia and Bhandara. Less than 1,000 doses will come into the kitty of other districts.
Dr Vinita Jain, deputy director of health services (Nagpur circle), said the immunisation planning would start from Thursday as per risk assessment. “Every year, the vaccine is developed as per the prevailing strain of virus and epidemiological pattern. As of now, the drive would be held for high risk priority group only,” she said.
Last week, a professor at GMCH got infected with H1N1. The professor told TOI he caught the infection before he could plan to take the flu shot.
Ante-natal cases (ANCs) or pregnant women is the other group bracketed as high risk in swine flu assessment. Even as the district has started reporting H1N1 cases daily, public health authorities had been clueless about vaccines for these high risk categories. The directorate of health services had asked for demand from each district last month. NMC had demanded 10,000 doses.
Dr Jain said, “Just two or three swine flu cases are surfacing daily in Nagpur. The situation is not all that bad. We haven’t seen any case of ANC testing positive for swine flu,” she said.
Dr Seema Parvekar, medical superintendent of Daga Women’s Hospital, said ANCs would be screened only if they have symptoms. “Right now, we haven’t seen cases of swine flu among them. Vaccination planning is yet to be done,” she said.