NIH seeks upfront payment for rabies vaccine

PESHAWAR: The National Institute of Health in Islamabad has decided to condition the provision of anti-rabies vaccine to direct payments rather than providing them on deferred payments.

Health officials in the province said that currently, a large number of dog-bite victims were approaching hospitals for treatment and anti-rabies vaccine.

Patients in other districts of the province are referred to the Health Department’s offices in Peshawar after being provided with an initial dose. As a result, the department has to deal with a rush of patients.

Officials said that until October, as many as 3,500 people approached the health department seeking anti-rabies vaccine. This included 157 people from the newly-merged tribal districts and 255 from other districts of the province.

Around 10 months ago, the K-P had sought some 300 vials of vaccine.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2019.