Mumbai: BMC-run hospitals and dispensaries are experiencing a shortage of anti-rabies vaccine for the past couple of weeks. Officials have directed health facilities to locally procure vials on a need basis until the issue is resolved.
Peripheral hospitals have been hit the hardest. An official from Bhabha Hospital said that most hospitals in the suburbs treat about 30 to 40 rabies cases almost every day.
Past data shows that annually the city reports about 70,000 dog bite cases. “This issue has been on and off since May. Insufficient stock was procured,” said an official from another suburban hospital that serves patients from areas like Govandi and Mankhurd.
BMC health officials said, “Local purchasing started just last week. Procurement usually happens through the central purchasing department, but that has not taken place.”
“The demand for Mumbai is about 36,000 vials every two months, but this time we only received 18,000 vials,” said an official from the central store in Kanjurmarg, which supplies vaccines to BMC facilities. TNN
