Poor uptake of hepatitis B vaccine in India has several causes, study finds

Poor management of vaccine stocks, poor record keeping, lack of staff training, and use of multidose vials were among the main reasons for low coverage of the hepatitis B vaccine in 10 states across India, researchers have found.

India is home to 11% of the world’s people with chronic hepatitis B and has between 100 000 and 200 000 deaths from hepatocellular carcinoma or cirrhosis each year. To tackle the disease, India introduced the hepatitis B vaccine across 10 states in …