Private hospitals sitting on 10 million unused Covid-19 vax doses

Close to 2 million may expire in December; hospitals start giving free shots

Amid dwindling demand and an impending decision on Covid booster shots, private hospitals have started to liquidate their vaccine stock nearing expiry by giving free jabs to citizens. Private hospitals are sitting on 10 million unused doses, of which 15-20 per cent will expire next month, said Girdhar Gyani, director-general of the Association of Healthcare Providers (India).

With around 2 million Covid vaccine doses likely to get wasted in December, leading hospital chains have now started to give it gratis to citizens. Some hospitals, however, say they will review the situation in the middle of January.

Apart from private hospitals, states and