The pentavalent vaccine (a combination vaccine for protection against five childhood diseases- diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, hepatitis B and pneumonia and meningitis (caused by Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib)), seeks to replace the  traditional DPT vaccine given to infants at 6, 10 and 14 weeks of age.At present the vaccines are procured from WHO pre-qualified manufacturers, by the UNICEF, through part funding from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations, more commonly known as the GAVI alliance (GAVI is a public private initiative that provides financial support to developing country governments to purchase vaccines for their immunization programmes). The use of the vaccine has been associated with adverse events following immunization (AEFI) and deaths. The fact that globally at least 63 deaths of infants have been recorded post-pentavalent inoculation, and that even in India the number of recorded deaths have climbed to 54 since 2011, calls for some serious re-assessment of the decision to introduce pentavalent vaccine in the universal immunization programme in India.  Read more…