Telangana Challenges PM Modi On Coronavirus Vaccine Wastage Rates

Last week the Prime Minister led a video conference with the chief ministers of several states to review the Covid situation in India, and vaccine wastage was discussed

The Telangana government has taken exception to claims by the centre that it is the state with the worst vaccine wastage rate in the country. The southern state has said that it is, in fact, among those to have most effectively and efficiently utilised stocks of the precious drug. Telangana Director of Health Dr G Srinivas has said the state government was taken aback by the claim - made last week by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then elaborated by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan. "It is absolutely, completely wrong. Our wastage is less than one per cent - actually 0.76 per cent - against the 17 per cent that the Government of India has claimed. As per data on portals maintained by the Government of India, based on this numbers, our wastage is, in fact the lowest in the country," Dr Srinivas said. Last week the Prime Minister led a video conference with the chief ministers of several states to review the Covid situation in India. The wastage of vaccines was one of the points discussed; PM Modi had said Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh had each reported wastage of over 10 per cent.