Official admission

In December 2008, a team of health ministry officials toured 13 states to review the National Rural Health Mission. They found, among other things, hospitals in Bihar did not have vaccines for diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus. The review also reported shortages in Assam, where measles vaccine was not available; in Chhattisgarh, measles vaccine was in short supply; in Kerala, DT (diphtheria and tetanus), TT (tetanus toxoid) were in short supply in the primary healthcare centres in Thiruvananthapuram. In Uttar Pradesh, DPT and TT were not available.

Orissa too faced shortage in 2008, Down To Earth found out. Banmali Jena, doctor at the Botarma community health centre in Khurda district, said DT vaccine was not available from April to December 2008 and DPT vaccine in August and September.