Abstract
As per the vaccine management policy of the Government of India all vaccine vials opened for an immunization session were discarded at the end of that session, irrespective of the type of vaccine or the number of doses remaining in the vial prior to 2013. Subsequently, open vial policy (OVP) was introduced in 2013 and should reduce both vaccine wastage as well as governmental healthcare costs for immunization. This study evaluates the vaccine wastage after introduction of the OVP and its comparison with the previous study of vaccine wastage in Surat city before implementation of OVP. It needs to mention that the vaccine policy for this period under comparison was uniform except for the OVP. Information regarding vaccine doses consumed and children vaccinated during immunization sessions of 24 urban health centers (UHCs) of Surat city were retrieved for the period of January 1st, 2014 to March 31st, 2014. The data were analyzed to estimate vaccine wastage rate (WR) and vaccine wastage factor (WF). In order to assess the impact of OVP, vaccine WR of this study was compared with that of previous study conducted in Surat city during January 1st, 2012 to March 31st, 2012. The vaccine WR for oral polio vaccine (OPV) has decreased from 25% to 13.62%, while the WRs for DPT, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the pentavalent vaccine combinedly have decreased from 17.94% to 8.05%. Thus, by implementation of OVP, an estimated 747 727 doses of OPV and 343 725 doses of diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus toxoid vaccine (DPT), HBV and the pentavalent vaccines combinedly have been saved in Surat city of India in a year. The implementation of the OVP in Surat city has led to a significant lowering in the vaccine wastage, leading to savings due to lower vaccine requirements.
Highlights
Universal Immunization Program (UIP) was launched in 1985 in India with intent to immunize all eligible children by 1990
This translates into vaccine wastage rate (WR) of 13.62% and vaccine wastage factor (WF) of 1.16% for oral polio vaccine (OPV)
In first quarter of 2012, vaccine WR and vaccine WF for OPV was 25% and 1.33%, respectively. This shows a significant decline in vaccine WR
Summary
Universal Immunization Program (UIP) was launched in 1985 in India with intent to immunize all eligible children by 1990. India being a developing economy needs to reduce avoidable vaccine wastage and wasteful budgetary requirements. This study was conducted to compare vaccine wastage before and after introducing the OVP by the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) for Surat city of India. Any vaccine wastage translates into fewer vaccine doses available to children and a higher cost of vaccination.[6] Any minimization of this cost would be a welcome step in fiscal planning. It needs mention that the Government of Gujarat introduced the pentavalent vaccine in UIP in January 2013 and OVP for multi-dose vials was made available from April 2013 in Gujarat.[7] This article attempts to calculate the vaccine WRs after introducing OVP in SMC area and the impact of OVP on vaccine wastage by comparing it with the previous study in Surat city before implementation of OVP
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