Tamil Nadu tightens screw to avoid vaccine wastage

HEALTH SECRETARY J. Radhakrishnan told this newspaper that there was high wastage of vaccines in the state as vaccination centres were not getting enough people to finish the final vial which has at least 10 doses.

As a result of high Covid19 vaccine wastage being reported in the state, the health department has now launched strict district and site- wise review to avoid wastage of vaccine doses. A RTI reply revealed that Tamil Nadu, with 12 per cent, topped the table of States that had reported the highest vaccine wastage till April 11.

According to health department data, the state inoculated a total of 48.07 lakh doses till April 19. Health secretary J. Radhakrishnan told this newspaper that there was high wastage of vaccines in the state as vaccination centres were not getting enough people to finish the final vial which has at least 10 doses.

‘It was difficult for the last set to be quantified with 4,000 vaccine centres across the state. So it became an issue. We are now very strict and started reviewing district and site wise to reduce it’, he said. The health minister Dr Vijay Bhasker explained that it was not possible to keep people waiting for hours for the numbers to fill up for the final vial and that wastage became higher owing to this.

The state kickstarted its vaccine drive on January 16. As per the RTI reply, apart from Tamil Nadu, Haryana (9.74 percent), Punjab (8.12), Manipur (7.8) and Telangana (7.55) topped the list of states with vaccine wastage. Over 44 lakh doses were wasted out of 10 crore doses used by states till April 11.

For the last few days, many districts in the state had reported a shortage of vaccines. Many states including Maharashtra, Punjab and Delhi had demanded delivery for more doses of vaccines as they were running out of stock. The demand could intensify with vaccinations being opened to all above 18 from May 1. Dr Rex Sargunam, president, Tamil Nadu Health Development Association, said that it happened due to lack of planning and implementation by the authorities.