Outrage as jabs end up in trash

DOCTORS say the NHS is ordering them to bin spare Covid vaccines.

Britain is racing to vaccinate 15million of the elderly and vulnerable by the middle of February.

But GPs say they were told this week not to give leftover doses to anyone who has already had their first jab.

Dr Robert Morley, of the Birmingham Local Medical Committee, said: “This is ridiculous, bordering on the criminal, to actually waste vaccines when you have the worst global healthcare crisis for a century.”

Dr Morley said they were being left with unused doses due to missed appointments and difficulty predicting how many people would turn up.

He added “The logical thing to do would be to use it as a second dose for healthcare workers, for example, who may be there in the building.”

Dr Morley feared letters from NHS England demanding no second jabs are given is being taken too literally by local NHS managers. He said that some are refusing to bin them, but others were scared of supplies being stopped.

He added that he knew GPs in Birmingham who were planning to give out the second dose.

Dr Julia Patterson, founder of Every Doctor, a campaign to protect the NHS and its workers, claimed at least six different workplaces had said doctors were forced to bin leftover jabs.

An NHS spokesman said: “There is absolutely no reason why vaccine should be wasted.

“Vaccination sites should be managing their appointment lists and have a back-up list of patients and staff who can receive the vaccine at short notice.”