The federal government has failed to provide Tuberculosis (TB) vaccines and syringes to Punjab even after two months.
The provincial government had written a letter asking the EPI to provide BCG syringes and vaccines. After a lapse of two months, the required vaccines and syringes have not been dispatched to the province.
When contacted, Secretary Health Ayub Shaikh said that the syringes will be dispatched to the province within a week’s time. He, however, refuted the reports about shortage of TB vaccines in the province.
He said that the lab test of the dose was being conducted to check quality and standard before handing it over to provinces.
“There is s shortage of BCG vaccines in the international market, however, Pakistan has enough stock to meet the requirement,” the health secretary claimed.
A senior official in the Punjab Health Department said that syringes have not been provided for a long period. About 0.6 million syringes were received each month by each province usually, the official added.
New-born babies are administered BCG vaccines against various diseases. The delay in provision of vaccines and syringes has compromised the efforts to curb tuberculosis.