Originally published November 25 2005
Indian government under fire for standardizing hepatitis vaccine
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Starting in 2006, all newborns in India will be vaccinated against Hepatitis B, but many doctors and health officials believe the government is being unduly influenced by drug manufacturers.
The Union health ministry announced last month that it has decided to include Hepatitis B vaccine under the national immunisation programme as "the disease has emerged as a bigger problem than AIDS in India".
However, the decision has been met with more criticism than appreciation, with public health organisations and a section of doctors accusing the government of sounding a false alarm and acting under pressure from vaccine manufacturers.
The universal vaccination is expected to cost the government upwards of Rs 125 crore per year, which is equal to the budget for the TB-control programme - the number one killer of Indian adults - and almost equal to the combined cost of the six other vaccines given to infants, point out activists.
According to them, a selective vaccination strategy should be used where only newborns of Hepatitis B-positive mothers and those who are especially prone to the infection are vaccinated.
"The government is acting on the behest of pressure from the vaccine companies lobby and international bodies and has decided to launch the universal hepatitis B vaccination programme, when it knows that it cannot even afford disposable syringes with which to give the vaccine.
It should instead spend on providing drinking water and sanitation, which will automatically wipe out a majority of the diseases," says Dr S L Pawar, a family physician involved in rural development and public health issues for the last two decades.
"Giving the vaccine to all new-borns that too six weeks after birth, does nothing to prevent mother-to-child transmission as newborns of positive mothers, who are at the highest risk of contracting the most dangerous variety of hepatitis B infection, should be given the vaccine within 48 hours of birth."
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