Nothing wrong with vaccine -WHO

Nadira Gunatilleke

Sri Lanka has obtained the Rubella vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (Pune), a manufacturer who is in the list of WHO’s pre- qualified manufacturers, WHO Representative to Sri Lanka, Dr. Firdos Rustom Mehta said.

After the death of a girl from Matara last March, the manufacturer got the product tested from the Maharashta Government which proved that there was nothing wrong in the rubella vaccine and it was not substandard, he said.

Addressing a special press briefing at the Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry yesterday, Dr. Mehta said Sri Lanka obtained the vaccine complied with all WHO regulations. Six more countries obtain the same rubella vaccine from the same manufacturer and only Sri Lanka had two complaints against the vaccine. According to the manufacturer no other country had complained about the vaccine so far. Now it has become a global concern and not only an issue related to Sri Lanka. WHO will get the assistance of global experts to investigate this issue, he said.

According to Dr. Mehta, becoming a pre-qualified manufacturer in the WHO list is not something simple.

It is a very long and rigid process and it takes years. WHO include a manufacturer in the pre-qualified list only after ensuring the safety, quality and efficiency of the drugs and vaccines produced by the manufacturer. Serum Institute of India is the only rubella vaccine manufacturer in the pre-qualified list at the moment. Countries including Canada and UK produce rubella vaccine for their domestic use, he said.