986 doses of vaccines wasted so far in Gurugram

At least 986 doses of the two Covid-19 vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin, have been wasted in the vaccination drives held till now in the district, according to the district health department data, with officials citing hesitancy among front-line healthcare workers as the main reason

At least 986 doses of the two Covid-19 vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin, have been wasted in the vaccination drives held till now in the district, according to the district health department data, with officials citing hesitancy among front-line healthcare workers as the main reason.

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As per the data, of the 18,633 of the 19,340 doses of Covishield provided to various vaccination sites since January 16 have been used, with the remaining 707 doses being wasted. A single vial of Covishield contains 10 doses, which has led to wastage of at least 71 vials, said officials.

A vial has to be consumed within four hours of being opened, after which it is considered to be wasted.

Similarly, for Covaxin, 921 of the 1,200 doses were used, with at least 279 doses, equivalent to almost 14 vials, being wasted. Unlike Covishield, a vial of Covaxin consists of 20 doses, which, according to the district immunisation officer, has led to increased wastage.

“Going by the acceptable vaccine wastage level set by the Union ministry of health and family welfare, vaccine wastage is being calculated on the basis of wastage multiplication factor (WMF),” said Dr MP Singh, district immunisation officer.

He said, “Based on a series of calculations, WMF has to be 1.1 as per the set standard. In the case of Covishield, WMF stands at 1, while for Covaxin it is almost 1.3.”

Officials said that the wastage could increase if the turnout continues to remain low at vaccination sites, especially at smaller sites. Opening a multi-dose vial at these sites can balloon the vaccine wastage, they said.

On Thursday, of the 1,600 healthcare workers listed for vaccination, around 970 turned up to take the shot. The health department is expecting a decrease in daily coverage after inoculating more than 55% of the registered front-line healthcare staff, as they had allowed walk-ins as well as workers to take the shot at their nearest centre.

Of the 37,000 registered staff, almost 21,000 have come forward to take the jab, highlighting the existing apprehension regarding the Covid vaccines.

“Currently, the vaccine wastage is under control in the district. It varies greatly from vaccination sites to the type of vaccine. Currently, the vaccination coverage has been limited since more than 55% of healthcare workers have taken the jab. There are chances footfall will remain low due to reluctance and duplicity in names. In such a situation, vials will remain unutilised in session sites of small sizes, which will ultimately lead to vaccine wastage,” said Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer.

A week before the vaccination, the Union ministry of health and family welfare, in its guidelines, stated that at least 10% of the Covid-19 vaccines procured by the Centre may be wasted in different phases of vaccine management. Assuming a wastage of 10%, the guidelines stated that acceptable wastage, in WMF terms, is 1.1, exceeding which may be a cause for concern.

According to Yadav, vaccine wastage can be minimised once the state health department on Friday allows the inoculation of other front-line workers from Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), revenue department and police department.