COVID19 vaccination: Lack of planning, poorly trained vaccinators responsible for high vaccine wastage

Even as the country’s vaccination strategy faces a race against time with cases of Coronavirus rising across the country, the problem of vaccine wastage has continued in almost all the states of the country with many reporting more wastage of crucial vaccines than the national average.

According to an Indian Express report, against the national vaccine wastage share of 6.5 per cent, states/UTs like Jammu & Kashmir (6.6 percent) has reported a higher wastage rate of 6.6 per cent, Telangana (17.6 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (11.6 per cent), UP (9.4 per cent), and Karnataka (6.9 per cent) .

Government officials tracking the vaccination wastage in the country have zeroed in on two primary reasons for the high wastage of Coronavirus vaccine.

One, the health workers who are vaccinating are not properly trained to take out vaccine shots from the multi-dose vials while the second reason behind the wastage is improper planning at the local vaccination centre.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)