Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh Big Vaccine Wasters, 1 In 3 Doses Wasted: Centre

Jharkhand is the worst when it comes to wasting Covid shots, says the health ministry, adding that many states are complaining about the shortage of vaccines on one hand and allowing substantial stocks to go waste on the other.

Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are wasting one out of every three vaccine doses and are the biggest vaccine wasters in the country, says health ministry data at a time vaccinations have slowed down or halted at several states because of the shortage of shots. Jharkhand is the worst when it comes to wasting Covid shots, says the health ministry, adding that many states are complaining about the shortage of vaccines on one hand and allowing substantial stocks to go waste on the other. The national average of doses being wasted is 6.3 per cent. "Whereas states have been urged repeatedly to keep vaccine wastage below one per cent, many states such as Jharkhand (37.3%), Chhattisgarh (30.2%), Tamil Nadu (15.5%), Jammu and Kashmir (10.8 %) and Madhya Pradesh (10.7%) are reporting much higher wastage than the national average," officials say on the figures released last evening.