Two recent communications in the pages of Indian Pediatrics [1,2] very eloquently underline the significance of the title above. While I urge the readers of the journal to read both the articles fully, I refer to lines relevant to the context of the present communication.

Editor’s Desk [1] discusses (or proposes as a "must"), inter alia, "need for a "code of conduct" on which academia-industry relationship must subsist." They further add at the end of the article, "Practitioners need to take charge of updating their knowledge themselves (italics mine!). The information fed by the pharmaceutical industry (do we include Vaccine companies too?, again italics are mine) needs to be seen, smelled, tasted and scrutinized for its content; before digesting it finally!

President’s Page [2] states, inter alia, at the end of the last but one paragraph, "We are thankful to the vaccine manufacturers viz. GSK, MSD, Sanofi and Wyeth-Pfizer for their magnanimous scientific grants and more importantly for their non-interference, non-influence in the science,..." (italics, mine)

When both the views, each authentic in its own right, get paradoxically juxtaposed in our own Journal with a very high impact factor of 1.04 [3], how should a practitioner take up a stand vis-à-vis his/her child patients and their non-affording parents, especially when more and more pediatricians in the market pool seem to be assuming role as "vaccinologists" or "vaccine specialists" following the training from National Vaccicon ToT, rather than clinicians following Immunization committee of IAP (IAPCOI), which brings out its instructional publications of consensus every year. Incidently, on the President’s Page, there is no mention of this committee’s role in huge success (or otherwise!) of Vaccicon on all parameters and also the flood of congratulatory and complimentary messages (italics mine, yet again).

1. Gupta P, Vashishtha VM. The games industry plays. Indian Pediatr. 2012;49:699.

2. Agarwal RC. Expanding the academic platter…. Indian Pediatr. 2012;49:701.