Tayside scores well on vaccine wastage

Coronavirus vaccine wastage in Tayside is among the lowest in the country with just over 1,000 discarded since the programme began.

The Scottish Government had planned for a worstcase scenario of around 5% of Covid-19 jags ending up in the bin.

But across Scotland the figure is currently well below that at 1.8%. In Tayside the rate is just 0.54%, equating to 1,041 doses and less than 10 a day from mid-December to March 23.

Almost 60% of the adult population in Tayside have now received a first dose.

A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said: “Our clinics manage vaccines extremely well in order to minimise doses left unused at the end of each day.

“The number of unused doses on any given day is very low as vaccine vials are managed according to the number of appointments booked.

“If there are any vaccines available at the end of a clinic session, our vaccination teams will contact eligible people who can attend at short notice.”

Doses are thrown out for various reasons.

Sometimes they are damaged or dropped; the particulate is contaminated; there are reconstitution and dilution or storage issues, or doses are unused vials.

Of the two vaccines currently being used, Pfizer generally has six doses in a vial and AstraZeneca eight or 10.

Once opened, they should be used within a few hours.

Guidance currently states doses left over from vials destined for appointments missed or cancelled should be offered to people in the highest priority groups.

Staff at vaccination centres and GP practices have been calling those with upcoming appointments to check if they can come in sooner – usually within half an hour – to use up these vaccines.

The NHS Tayside spokesperson added: “Uptake levels for vaccination in Tayside remains above the Scottish average, with 60% of the adult population having in multipledose had their first dose. It is encouraging that 91% of those eligible in Tayside in priority groups one to eight have so far had a first vaccination and appointments for cohort nine should be complete by early April.

“As with all appointments, there are some people who are unable to attend on the day and we would encourage them to reschedule by following the instructions in their appointment letter.

“People are also asked to ensure that their contact details at their GP surgery are up-to-date as vaccination appointment letters are sent to the address which people have registered with their GP practice.

“Anyone who has recently moved house, or thinks their details may be out-ofdate, should get in touch with their surgery and update their address.”

“Our clinics manage the vaccines well to minimise unused doses

ON THE BALL: Staff contact eligible people if there are vaccines available at the end of the session.