New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Thursday said he would write to state governments to fully utilize H1N1 vaccines allotted to them.
‘We will write to the states to ensure that the vaccine stock given to them is used,’ said Azad at the launch of the first indigenous vaccine for the H1N1 flu strain.
Government imported H1N1 vaccines in February for meeting the demand as no indigenous vaccine was available. The minister said that only eight states have so far used more than 50 percent of the H1N1 vaccine stock given to them.
‘We imported the vaccines to meet the immediate needs. However, all states have not utilised the stocks given to them,’ Azad said.
The minister said that Arunachal Pradesh topped the list for using the vaccine, utilising 94 percent of the stock.
Tamil Nadu is second with 77 percent of the stock used, followed by Chhattisgarh 68 percent, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 65 percent, Punjab and Gujarat 62 percent each and the Lakshadweep 51 percent. All other states have used less than half of their stock, the minister said.
–Indo-Asian news Service
ao/rah/vt
