More than 37 per cent of Covid-19 vaccines in Jharkhand goes waste, while such wastage in neighbouring Chhattisgarh is in excess of 30 per cent, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday, asking the States to bring down the vaccine wastage level to just 1 per cent.
Other states with a high level of vaccine wastage are Tamil Nadu (15.5%), Jammu and Kashmir (10.8%), and Madhya Pradesh (10.7%) as all are reporting much higher wastage than the national average (6.3%).
The Centre had repeatedly told the States to reduce the wastage to ensure that the maximum number of people are vaccinated. But as the central data shows, nearly 15 lakh doses in Jharkhand are wasted amidst a serious shortage of Covid-19 vaccines.
During one of his meetings with the chief ministers in March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged the issue of vaccine wastage, asking the chief ministers to find out ways to reduce the loss. At that time, Modi highlighted Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh as states where more than 10 per cent of Covid-19 vaccines were wasted.
Meanwhile, the ministry on Tuesday said more than 1.77 crore Covid-19 cvccine doses (1,77,67,850) are still available with the states. Another seven lakh vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by the states within the next three days. Cumulatively, more than 20 crore doses have been administered so far.
The states have been asked to prepare a district-wise vaccination plan as the states have been informed on how much vaccine they would receive from the Centre till June 15. The states also know how much vaccine would be received till June 30 under the direct procurement plan.
Amidst the ongoing crisis on vaccine supply, the states have been advised to constitute a two-three member team to regularly coordinate with vaccine manufacturers for timely supplies of vaccine through the direct procurement route to private hospitals.
The list of private hospitals along with doses contracted and supplied is being shared daily with the states, the ministry said in a statement.