After the CPI(M), the crucial partner of the ruling UPA government, raised its voice against any attempt to shut down three public sector vaccine manufacturing units, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has quickly moved to announce that it will upgrade the units and 'do everything to protect their interest'.
In a letter to CPI (M) Member of Parliament Brinda Karat on Friday, Ramadoss said the Centre has no plans to shut down the three units.
The three facilities are BCG vaccine laboratory in Guindy of Chennai, Pasteur Institute of India in Coonoor and Kasauli-based Central Drug Laboratory.
The licence of these units had been suspended and the government has stopped the procurement of vaccines from these PSUs after they failed to meet standards laid down by the World Health Organisation last year.
"After the restructuring of the existing vaccine manufacturing institutes and commissioning of the new manufacturing facility, these units would be in a position to supply major requirements for our immunisation programme," Ramadoss has written in the reply, adding: "I appreciate your deep concern about these institutes. I assure you that my ministry will make all endeavours to protect the interest of the institutes."
In her letter to Ramadoss, Karat had cried foul over the allegation that the UPA government was closing down the three units and allowing private players to control supply to vaccines in the government's immunisation programmes.
The minister has conveyed to the CPI (M) that an expert team has been constituted, which will examine the facilities of these institutes for further restructuring.
WHO has a scheme of assessing National Regulatory Authority (NRA) in order to monitor the quality of vaccines. India went through this evaluation in 2001, 2004 and lastly in August 2007.
As WHO had tightened its benchmarks, NRA failed to ensure compliance in the last test. Based on the evaluation figures, the government revoked the licence of the three units.
After his major setback on the AIIMS front, where his pet Bill to oust P Venugopal from the director's post of the AIIMS has been quashed by the Supreme Court, Venugopal is clearly not in a mood to ruffle political feathers any further.