Vaccine wastage nearly 7%, says health ministry

Health ministry urged authorities to 'optimally utilize' vaccines.

India has administered at least 36 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to date, even as vaccine wastage hovers around 7%, health ministry data showed on Wednesday.

An elderly woman gets vaccinated against Covid-19 at Sector 30 district hospital, in Noida. (Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times)

“The current average of Covid-19 vaccine wastage in India is 6.5%, but there are several states that are wasting more than the national average… The important message that we have shared with those states is that vaccines are invaluable commodities; these are public health goods; therefore, vaccines have to be optimally utilized. Vaccine wastage has to be drastically reduced, as any reduction in vaccine wastage means you end up inoculating more people,” said Rajesh Bhushan, Union health secretary, during a media briefing.