Flu vaccine demand takes off in India as pandemic raises awareness

Abbott India

23/11/2021 16:10

By Manas Mishra and Leroy  Leo
    Nov 23 (Reuters) - A pandemic-spurred demand for flu
vaccines in India has surged since a devastating second wave of
COVID-19 brought the nation's healthcare system to its knees
earlier this year.
    Vaccinations against influenza are not very common in India
due to a lack of awareness, access and steep prices, and they
are also not part of the federal government's universal
immunization program that includes polio, tuberculosis and
Hepatitis B.
    Still, more than 1,000 shots were administered at Manipal
Hospital's sites in the tech hub of Bengaluru in southern India
between July and September, compared with about 3,000 for all of
last year, according to the healthcare provider.
    "Initially, everyone thought if you got flu vaccines,
COVID-19 won't affect you severely," said Dr. Ram Shankar
Mishra, director of internal medicine at the Max Super Specialty
Hospital, Saket, in the national capital of New Delhi.
    Mishra added demand has increased, even as COVID-19
vaccinations gather pace.
    Apollo Hospitals  APLH.NS  and Fortis Healthcare  FOHE.NS 
are also witnessing higher demand for flu shots, including
Abbott India's  ABOT.NS  imported vaccine, Influvac, the private
hospital operators told Reuters.  
    Sales in its vaccine unit rose 42.3% in the financial year
ended March, largely due to the  influenza prevention shot,
Abbott India disclosed in its annual report.
    Delhi resident Deepak Kapoor, 40, said he got both his
children, aged 10 years and aged 8 months, a flu vaccine.
    "During the second wave, there was a lot of talk about flu
vaccines, our pediatrician recommended this and I read a lot of
literature about it online."
    Some worried parents also asked if their elderly relatives
needed to be given the flu vaccine, pediatricians said.
    
    COSTLY SHOT
    However, the price of these shots range between 1,500 and
2,000 Indian rupees ($20-$27), making them inaccessible to a
large chunk of India's population. The country's per capita
income was $1,900 in 2020, World Bank data showed.
    The pandemic-fueled uptick has triggered hopes that demand
would stay strong.
    "I will be happy to see if the market grows, and I think it
should because in these two years, lot of people have become
aware of the influenza vaccine," said Dr Lalit Kant, former head
of epidemiology and communicable diseases division at the Indian
Council of Medical Research.


($1 = 74.3520 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Manas Mishra and Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing
by Sriraj Kalluvila)
 ((Manas.Mishra@thomsonreuters.com;
www.twitter.com/Manasmishra24))