No government plans to revive vaccine units, says MPs panel

SHIMLA - The central government has no roadmap to revive the three state-run vaccine producing plants in the country, shut in January 2008, a parliamentary panel has concluded.

In its report tabled in the Lok Sabha during its monsoon session last month, the panel said the sequence of events since the licences of the three units were revoked in January 2008 “clearly shows that their revival is not envisaged by the government in future”.

The licences of the Central Research Institute (CRI) at Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh, Pasteur Institute of India in Coonoor in Kerala, and the BCG Vaccine Laboratory in Guindy, Tamil Nadu, were suspended by the union health and family welfare ministry on the ground that these were not adhering to the World Health Organisation (WHO) norms for manufacturing.

However, the government allowed the CRI Kasauli to restart production in April this year.

The committee, that included Rajya Sabha member from Himachal Pradesh Viplove Thakur, said: “Every attempt was made to create hurdles so that the process of making them goods manufacturing practices compliant continues for long and their vaccine production remains suspended.”

The prices of vaccines in the country have shot up with the closure of these units, it noted.

“Within two years of closure of the units, the competitive prices of vaccines have shot up more than double. With rising prices of vaccines, expenditure incurred in the implementation of universal immunisation programme in the country would surely add to the burden of the public exchequer,” said the report, a copy of which is with IANS.

The report also held that the decision to discontinue vaccine production was not guided by sound reasoning.

“There is nothing substantial on record analysing the grounds on which the decision was taken,” it observed.

According to the committee, the production at the Pasteur Institute of India in Coonoor is likely to begin in December, but the ministry is silent on allowing the BCG Vaccine Laboratory in Guindy to restart production.

An official at the CRI Kasauli said the institute has restarted production of DPT, yellow fever and anti-sera vaccines.

“The central government has allowed the institute to restart production but it’s still not serious on overcoming the shortcomings in goods manufacturing practice,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.

Before the suspension, the 103-year-old CRI was manufacturing more than 15 vaccines including for diphtheria, measles, typhoid and tetanus.