Haryana reports 5% wastage of Covid-19 vaccines

Statistics by the National Health Mission, Haryana, for the period till 17 May 2021, have revealed that 5 percent of vaccines have been wasted in the state.

Several districts located in the National Capital Region remained on top in terms of vaccine wastage. The list includes Palwal (11.2 percent), Hisar (10.4 percent) Nuh (10.2 percent) and Bhiwani (7.9 percent), which is being termed wastage at a large scale and a matter of serious concern.

Nine other districts are among those which have wasted between 5 and 7.5 percent of the vaccine doses so far. The list comprises Rohtak, Kaithal, Panipat, Jhajjar, Fatehabad, Sirsa, Faridabad, Sonipat and Charkhi Dadri. Among these, many continue to witness a spurt in Covid cases in their rural areas. The increasing death ratio is also worrying.

When contacted regarding this matter, Prabhjot Singh, Director, National Health Mission, did not response to either calls or messages.

Vaccine wastage is an expected component of any large vaccination drive and a vaccine is procured from the maker with an estimated margin for wastage. However, for each vaccine type, the wastage has to be within recommended limits.

Vaccine wastage is mainly divided into wastage in unopened vials and in opened vials. In unopened vials, wastage can occur if the expiry date has been reached, if the vaccine is exposed to heat, if the vaccine has been frozen, breakage, missing inventory and theft, and while discarding unused vials. Wastage in opened vials can occur while discarding remaining doses at the end of the session, due to not being able to draw the number of doses in a vial, submergence of opened vials in water, suspected contamination and poor vaccine administration practices.