Punjab is facing an acute shortage of hepatitis vaccines for newborns after a private supplier failed to deliver the bulk of an order placed by the provincial Health Department, official documents reveal.
The Health Department had contracted the company in 2024 to supply three million doses. However, the firm managed to deliver only 524,000 doses, creating a critical shortfall that has left newborns across the province at risk, according to a report by SAMAA.
Correspondence between the Health Department and the supplier shows the company was repeatedly directed to fulfil the remaining quota, but it failed to comply. In its response, the firm blamed technical malfunctions at its vaccine manufacturing facility in India for the delays.
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With the shortage worsening, Punjab’s director general of health moved to blacklist the company. The decision bars the supplier from taking part in any government tender for the next three years, in what officials described as a punitive step to hold the firm accountable for breaching its commitment.
