According to official data, over 7 crore vaccine doses have been provided by the Centre to states so far, out of which out which more than 3.46 crore vaccine doses have been administered. Of that, around 6.5% of Covid vaccines have gone to waste according to health officials, which is over 23 lakh vaccine doses.
The govt says four states and a Union Territory have reported wastage above the national mark of 6.5%. Among them are Telangana (17.6%), Andhra Pradesh (11.6%), Uttar Pradesh (9.4%), Karnataka (6.9%) and J&K (6.6%).
Top government officials, who are monitoring the vaccination drive across the country, have identified inadequate training of vaccinators and lack of detailed planning at vaccination sites as the two key gaps that have led to some states reporting wastage levels above the national average. The Centre has asked states to encourage optimum utilisation of vaccines and to significantly curtail squandering.
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