Vaccines for babies in short supply
Published:Thursday | October 7, 2021 | 12:05 AMJudana Murphy/Gleaner Writer
At least three health regions across Jamaica have reported that some vaccines for young children are in short supply.
South Eastern Regional Health Authority (SERHA) Regional Technical Director Dr Sandra Chambers-Gause disclosed that the BCG vaccine is scarcest.
The BCG vaccine is usually administered shortly after birth but can be given up to six weeks after.
“For Kingston and St Andrew, we last got stock from NHF in August, and since then, we have been balancing across the region – taking from wherever has more and subsidising. We just ran out of BCG just this week in Kingston and St Andrew,” Chambers-Gause said.
The NHF is the National Health Fund.
Furthermore, St Catherine is out of stock, and St Thomas’ supply is low.
“Oral polio vaccine, paediatric DT, which is diphtheria and tetanus, and BCG, supplies have been running low,” she added.
Chambers-Gause told The Gleaner that national supply is expected to arrive by October 15.
In St Thomas, where the birth rate is much lower as women often deliver their babies outside of the parish, SERHA took supplies to equip other facilities in the region.
The majority of births in the region occur at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital and Spanish Town Hospital.
“Other parishes would also be lending us vaccines. Other parishes would be low, too, because we haven’t gotten any stock since August, but I’m not sure what their status is because their birth figures are different from ours,” she said.
The regional technical director outlined that from time to time, Jamaica experiences vaccine los, but it does not result in a significant shortfall.
She explained that vaccines are stored at a certain temperature, and once the cold chain is compromised, inoculants have to be disposed of.
“If there is a power outage and the generator didn’t kick in, you could have a loss. Some of that happened when we had the hurricane in July, and so we had some loss. There was no BCG in that batch that was lost,” she revealed.
Chairman of the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA), Wayne Chen, also reported a shortfall.
CHRONIC SHORTAGE
SRHA is responsible for the delivery of healthcare services to residents of Clarendon, Manchester, and St Elizabeth.
“There has been a shortage of MMR and BCG. The inventory is not where it should be. From time to time, you may have a few left at the health centres, but I know it is low or out,” Chen said.
The Gleaner had received anecdotal reports of vaccine shortage from as early as August 24.
Regional director of the North Eastern Regional Health Authority (NERHA), Dr Patrick Wheatle, sought to explain that though supplies are low, it is “not as critical” as the BCG vaccine was being administered at the six-week mark up until a few years ago.
The change was made to ensure a high rate of vaccination as more than 95 per cent of births were occurring in hospitals.
Director of family health services, Dr Melody Ennis, was contacted for comment and a subsequent email was sent on September 6.
Follow-ups were conducted with the communications team but to no avail.
Ennis was contacted again on Wednesday, butshe had not provided a response up to press time.