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New Delhi, September 16: Shortly, free contraceptive vaccines will be released under the National Family Welfare Scheme. Nation’s top drug advisor committee has approved usage of contraceptive medicine Deoxy Medroxy Progesterone Acetate (DPMA) and would recommend the government to include this in the Family Welfare Scheme.
This drug DMPA contains a female harmone which helps to prevent production of eggs in the ovaries of women and helps in preventing pregnancy for three months. This vaccine will be injected to the arm or hip muscles.
Over the past ten years, the Health Department had thought of distributing contraceptives for women. But as the decision of distributing vaccines were opposed by the women associations, the government failed in taking the final decisions. This vaccine will be responsible for ‘Amenoria’ – a fluctuation in the women’s menstrual cycle and vitamin deficiency in bones. In addition, the prolonged usage of vaccine may also cause breast cancer and endometrial cancer in women. Due to these reasons the women’s associations had opposed the distribution of these vaccines.
The country’s top health committee Drug Technical Advisory Body (DTAB) has decided in a high –level meeting of Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to introduce this vaccine under National Family project. Already five contraceptives are being used and the government distributes them in free. Now, if these vaccines get implemented by the government, they will be distributed penny free to the people.
Generally, for the drug related matters, health ministry will accept the recommendations of dtab. So it is likely that this will also be accepted. For this contraceptive vaccine, already the dtab has given approval and 32 non government organizations associations has accepted this decision of the government.
