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States on overdrive to reduce vaccine wastage as Covid-19 cases rise

Experts say controlling spoilage with 10-dose vials may give vax drive a shot in the arm

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Vaccine doses can be wasted for various reasons — in opened vials as well as unopened ones. When the doses are not used within four hours or so after opening the vial, they are wasted

Sohini Das Vinay Umarji T E Narasimhan Mumbai/Ahmedabad/Chennai

4 min read Last Updated : Mar 22 2021 | 3:38 AM IST

As India witnesses a ‘second wave’ of the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for vaccination has increased manifold. Hence, every step is being taken to reduce vaccine wastage.

For example, the number of doses in a pack of Covaxin has been halved — from a 20-dose pack, Bharat Biotech’s vaccine now contains 10 doses.

Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, also comes in 10-dose packs.

A United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) study on vaccine spoilage in 2009-10 said that wastage was least when the vial had five doses.

Vaccine doses can be wasted for various reasons —

Topics : Coronavirus Coronavirus Vaccine Vaccine Vaccination