Following reports of a shortage of anti-rabies vaccine in the state of Karnataka, the state health department has reached out to officials in Kerala and Tamil Nadu to ensure that there is a minimal supply of the vaccine available in hospitals across the state.

While Kerala will be providing 10,000 vials of the vaccine to Karnataka, Tamil Nadu will be providing 5,000 vials of the vaccine. In addition, the Karnataka State Health and Family Welfare department has also decided that it will be placing orders for the anti-rabies vaccine with manufacturers of the vaccine directly, rather than approach the Karnataka State Drugs Logistics and Warehousing Society. Till date, the Karnataka State Drugs Logistics and Warehousing Society has been the one to provide the vaccine to government hospitals and healthcare centres in the state.

While tenders for the supply of drugs were issued in December 2018 and January 2019, they were not met with a good response. Officials from the state had earlier said that they would be floating another tender, however, they have now decided to approach manufacturers of the vaccine directly instead.

While a nationwide shortage of the vaccine has been reported, some states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu have a long term contract with companies which supply them with the vaccine. As a result, the two states now have an adequate stock of the vaccine. Dr Sajjan Shetty, Joint Director of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Program told TNM earlier that the hospitals were initially being told to procure the drugs from an open market source using funds which had been allocated to the hospitals.

An anti-rabies vaccine is administered to people who present with dog bites or any other exposure to a rabies-infected animal. It is given over a period of a few weeks in four doses.

This story was originally published on The News Minute and is reprinted here with permission. It can be viewed on https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/amid-shortage-karnataka-source-anti-rabies-vaccine-kerala-tamil-nadu-104259