Tripura has reported the maximum percentage of wastage of Covid-19 vaccines in India so far.
According to available data, 1,623 or 11 per cent of the total vaccine doses have been wasted in the state.
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The reason behind this wastage was that not enough recipients had turned up for vaccination at the different vaccination sites during the ongoing drive.
According to sources, about 5,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been wasted in five states.
Tripura immunization officer Kallol Roy said, “From Friday to Saturday 1 pm a total of 611 vials of Covid-19 vaccines have been wasted.
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“The health department has been unable to find enough recipients to administer the Covid-19 vaccine,” he said.
A vial contains about 10-12 doses of the vaccine and has to be used within four hours of opening it.
The Union health ministry had calculated that 10-15 per cent of the vaccines will be lost for various reasons and had accordingly provided extra vaccines to every state.
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“While some vaccines can be used for more than 48 hours after opening a vial, vaccines for Covid-19 rubella, SARS virus must be administered within four hours. Sometimes droplets also fall while being drawn by syringes,” Roy said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the world’s biggest immunization drive across the country on January 16.
The Union government targets to immunize 3 crores of health and frontline workers during the first phase of the immunization drive.
More than 27,000 people have so far been vaccinated in Tripura, though the target is to vaccinate 45,000 health workers in the first phase.
While the South Tripura District has shown excellent performance in terms of vaccination, Khowai, Dhalai and Unokoti districts are lagging.