An affordable Rotavirus prevention vaccine — named Rotavac — developed at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) is expected to hit the markets soon.
The final data published on the Rotavac vaccine’s research – which took more than 20 years — has been handed over to an Indian company. It has received approval of the Drugs Controller General of India. It is going to be the third Rotavirus prevention vaccine in the Indian market – after RotaTeq (Merck) and Rotarix (GlaxoSmithKline) — and the first produced by any Indian company. All three of them — Rotavac, RotaTeq and Rotarix — are oral vaccines.
The Rotavirus vaccines sold by the foreign companies are highly expensive, they cost around Rs 1000. ‘But one dosage of Rotavac is going to cost around half a dollar (around Rs 30),’ says Dr Vinod Kumar Paul, Head of the department of Pediatrics at AIIMS.
The three dosages of the oral vaccine shall be administered to infants at the 6th week, 10th week and 14th week. ‘Rotavac will be affordable for all and its standard will be no less than that of the foreign manufacturers,’ said Dr Paul.
Around 100000 children in India die because of Rotavirus every year. There are more than 500000 hospitalisation and 2000000 OPD cases per annum, reveals a compilation of studies, including one by the National Surveillance Programme on Rotavirus.
The study also shows that: of all the children in India, who die between one month and five years of age, one-fourth die due to diarrhea. Of this one-fourth, around 40% are Rotavirus cases.
World Health Organisation recommends universal introduction of safe and effective rotavirus vaccines in national immunisation programmes. Even achieving 100 percent sanitation doesn’t ensure freedom from Rotavirus. So safe, effective and affordable Rotavirus vaccines are essential, Dr Paul added.