Government of India has decided to expand Rotavirus vaccine to the entire country. it will provide Rotavirus vaccine to every child across all 36 states and UTs by September, 2019.
About:
Rotavac is India’s first indigenously developed vaccine for rotavirus infections.
Out of all the causes of diarrhoea, rotavirus is a leading cause of diarrhoea in children less than 5 years of age. It is estimated that rotavirus cause 8,72,000 hospitalizations; 32,70,000 outpatient visits and estimated 78,000 deaths annually in India.
The Rotavac has been developed by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech Limited. The Pune-based Serum International also has developed a rotavirus vaccine called Rotasiil. Both of them have been included in India’s immunisation programme.
Timeline:
Rotavirus vaccine was introduced in 2016 in a phased manner, beginning with 4 states initially. At present, Rotavirus vaccine is now available in 28 States/UTs.
In January 2018, Rotavac vaccine was “pre-qualified” by the World Health Organisation (WHO). To be “pre-qualified” means that the vaccine can be sold internationally to several countries in Africa and South America.
In April 2019, Gagandeep Kang became the first Indian woman to be awarded Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS), United Kingdom for her key role in the development of Rotavac.
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