Acute shortage of anti-rabies vaccine in Gurugram for last 2 months

Gurugram: There has been an acute shortage of rabies vaccine at the Gurugram civil hospital for the past two months. Private hospitals and pharmacies in the city are also reporting the same.

In a city where the cases of dog and monkey bites are increasing by the day, the shortage of vaccine is only resulting in more trouble and hassles.

Officials at the Civil hospital's are already referring the patient to Delhi as that they did not have the required stock as the state headquarter had not sent it.

According to hospital authorities, they have been trying to purchase the vaccine from the market but there is a shortage in the market, as well.

Senior hospital officials said the state bought a stock of 10,000 injections, last week, but the district got only 1,000 injections, out of which only 200 were allotted to the civil hospital.

The doctors have been instructed to use the injections judiciously and only for the poorest patients.

On average, nearly 100 patients visit the civil hospital for treatment related to dog bites. Officials said that patients were currently being asked to get vaccines from the market.

"We are not getting the desired supply. The reason is not known. As government hospitals do not have stock, more people are buying it from pharmacies or private hospitals," said Rajesh Goyal of Gurugram Chemists' Association.

A spokesperson of a prominent private hospital in Gurugram said had sufficient stock but another leading private hospital, on the condition of anonymity, said it was facing a shortage too.

Several pharmacies in the city reported non-availability of the vaccine, adding that the supply could not keep up with the demand.

"I sold 12 doses of the vaccine to a man, after which my stock has not been refilled," said a prominent pharmacist at Gurugram's Vyaapar Kendra market. We have been facing shorateg of the vaccines but we hoe that the stock will be replinished soon. We have informed about the government and have been assured that the required invesntory will be delivered soon," said a senior doctor rom the government hospital Gurugram