Thread by @BiIndia

#Telangana and #AndhraPradesh have the highest #COVID19Vaccine wastage in India

#VaccineWastage

businessinsider.in/science/health…

By @pabsgill

@pabsgill #COVID19Vaccines are in short supply making them ‘invaluable commodities’, according to India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. But, the wastage of vaccines is a growing concern in five Indian states — Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, UP, Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir.

@pabsgill All of these states have recorded vaccine wastage higher than the overall Indian average of 6.5%. The situation is especially critical in the states of #Telangana and #AndhraPradesh where #VaccineWastage is double digits.

@pabsgill “#VaccineWastage has to be drastically reduced. Any reduction in wastage means that you end up inoculating more people, therefore the chances of disrupting the chain of infection grow that much more,” said the Health Ministry Secretary during the press conference on March 17.

@pabsgill For instance, #Telangana’s vaccine wastage is at 17.6%. This means that 176 doses out of every 1,000 doses are being wasted. High wastage inflates the demand for vaccines and raises procurement and supply-chain costs, which the government has to bear.

#VaccineWastage

@pabsgill In India’s case, the reason for #VaccineWastage is not inefficient transportation or lack of cold storage but the number of doses within a single vial. Once a vial is opened, the doses have to be administered within a span of four hours.