title: Synthesizing evidences for policy translation: a public health discourse on rotavirus vaccine in India.
abstract: The debate on the relevance of rotavirus vaccine to immunization program in India, where 27 million children are born every year, rages on. We synthesized the issues raised during these debates and reviewed the current literature to identify themes that could inform public health policy decision. The paradigm we used integrated disease burden data, host and environmental factors, vaccine efficacy, immunization program issues, and economic considerations. Our synthesis reveals that substantive country specific information on disease burden and economic impact of rotavirus illness in India is constrained by lack of public discussion and qualitative studies on mothers' perceptions of the vaccine in concern. The need to improve the performance of current immunization program against six major vaccine preventable diseases (tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, and measles) is often cited as a priority over introduction of rotavirus vaccine. Health in India being a state subject, we emphasize that the states which are in a position to reap the benefit of rotavirus vaccine, due to their good immunization program performance, should not be restrained from doing so. Meanwhile, the poorly performing states should step up their vaccination program and increase immunization coverage. Scientific, ethical and societal concerns captured through multiple sources indicate that the introduction of rotavirus vaccine would be a good investment for India.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED/ICMR), P-33, CIT Road, Scheme-XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata 700010, West Bengal, India. Electronic address: pandasamiran@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Samiran
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Panda
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED/ICMR), P-33, CIT Road, Scheme-XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata 700010, West Bengal, India; Department of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, 640 Charles E Young Dr S, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States.
authors.forename: Aritra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Das
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED/ICMR), P-33, CIT Road, Scheme-XM, Beliaghata, Kolkata 700010, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Saheli
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Samanta
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D017281:Cost of Illness; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs / Q000191:economics; D007194:India; D007223:Infant; D011634:Public Health; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022243:Rotavirus Vaccines / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D022243:Rotavirus Vaccines
keywords: Cost of illness; Diarrhea; Immunization; India; Rotavirus; Vaccine policy