TEAM HERALD
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PANJIM: The Panjim Urban Health Centre has run out of stock of Yellow Fever vaccines, in what the health officials’ term is a regular exhaustion of stock before the new one arrives.
Yellow fever vaccination, mandatory for those who seek to travel to North America, is available privately as well, but at a price much higher than the subsidized sale that is given at the Panjim Urban Health Centre.
The Panjim UHC generally does vaccination every week with nearly 80 patients seeking the vaccine on average every month. Yearly, the Panjim UHC used to vaccinate around 2000 patients. Patients now have to procure the vaccine privately at the cost of Rs 1400 as against the subsidised rate of Rs 300 per patient provided by the Panjim UHC.
“It cannot be termed as a shortage. We receive our fixed stock of vaccinations that are allocated to us and when we exhaust them we have to wait for the next stock,” Dr Mangala Tamba the Health Officer of the Panjim UHC told Herald.
She said that they have standing instructions to give the yellow fever vaccine to the urgent cases first, but that it is difficult to decide which case is urgent and which is not.
“Everybody who comes for the vaccine say they are leaving soon within the next week or so. How are we to check? When the vaccine comes, they all rush for it,” Dr Tamba further said.
Symptoms of Yellow Fever are fever, nausea, and pain, and it generally subsides after several days. In some patients, a toxic phase follows, in which liver damage with jaundice (giving the disease its name) can occur and lead to death. It is mandatory for those travelling to North American countries to carry a certificate of vaccination.
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Anti-venom vials available
PANJIM: The government has procured anti-venom vials, bringing relief to the officials who were worried that if the stocks run out, poisonous snake bite victims would perish with doctors having to stand and watch.
The Directorate of Health Services has received a stock of 700 vials while the Goa Medical College received a stock of 500 vials.
In December, the GMC had run out of anti-venom vials and all patients were being referred to the district hospitals, which thankfully still had stock but were running low.
