HYDERABAD: Doctors in Telangana are up in arms over the government's failure to provide them vaccines against swine flu even as two more people died of H1N1 virus here on Thursday.
The Telangana government swung into action and sacked Sambasiva Rao, the director of public health for 'mishandling' the situation arising out the swine flu outbreak and sent an SOS to the Centre for 20,000 additional tamiflu tablets.
Worried Telangana Junior Doctors' Association (TJUDA) members are buying anti-flu vaccines from the open market ever since five junior doctors contracted swine flu - three at Osmania hospital and two at Gandhi hospital - in the last one week.
As a preventive measure, a group of 25 postgraduate doctors of Gandhi Hospital took anti-H1N1 vaccine, each paying Rs 380 from their pocket.
"There is no time to fight with the health administration seeking preventive vaccination for all the 400 junior medicos. We cannot depend on the state's mercy for free vaccination as two of our colleagues, a gynecology student and a house surgeon, are already down with H1N1," said Dr V Naresh, vice-president, TJUDA, Gandhi unit.
While Naresh's friends from anesthesia department got vaccinated en masse, his other colleagues from 'vulnerable departments' like general medicine, pediatrics, general surgery, gynecology and obstetrics will also get vaccinated very soon.
"These are the departments where junior medicos can get exposed to swine flu patients, who throng these areas without knowing that they are actually H1N1 patients. Statistically, majority of swine flu deaths have occurred in Gandhi Hospital," he added.
In fact, H1N1 has left the TJUDA representatives, of both Gandhi and Osmania hospitals, so scared that they simultaneously made representations to their hospital managements on Thursday seeking compulsory vaccination and distribution of protective N95 respirator masks for all the healthcare providers working in the two teaching hospitals.
"It is strange why despite sanctioning a whopping Rs 100 crore each to Gandhi and Osmania hospitals, the state government cannot afford to buy vaccines and N95 masks for 3,000 PG doctors, house surgeons, nurses and Class IV employees," said Dr G Srinivas, TJUDA state president.
Not to be left behind, even the Telangana State Nursing Association members too are now virtually up in arms against the health administration.
"We are planning to give a representation to the health secretary of Telangana seeking vaccines and protective masks for our about 1,000 nursing staff in the two teaching hospitals and 300 nursing," said P Swaroopa, president, Telangana State Nursing Association.
Dr Putta Srinivas, director of medical education (DME), Telangana, clarified that the anti-flu vaccine need not be administered to each and every caregiver in Osmania and Gandhi hospitals.
"Those working in swine flu wards have already been vaccinated in both the hospitals. There is no need for general public to take the vaccine as its efficacy is only 30%," he added.
Meanwhile, doctors in Andhra Pradesh demanded that the annual Visakha Utsav that will kick-off in Visakhapatnam be postponed in view of the H1N1 threat.
At a media conference, Dr Aruna Kumari, director of health (AP), said special isolation wards were being set up in all hospitals. But experts said the residuary state does not have the capability to handle a health emergency as there were no testing or treatment facilities. So far, AP has recorded 12 positive cases and one death.
