NEW DELHI: Kerala and West Bengal performed exceptionally and recorded negative vaccine wastage (-6.3 per cent and -5.4 per cent) saving 1.1 lakh and 1.6 lakh doses respectively. The officials of Government of India said that this shows that optimum use and diligent supply management of vaccines is possible. Moreover, the states used ‘extra dose’ due to negative wastage of COVID-19 vaccines.
The data shows that states like Kerala and West Bengal stand at a contrast with states such as Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, which have recorded 33.9 per cent and 15.7 per cent of vaccine wastage respectively. Other states such as Madhya Pradesh (7.3 per cent) and Punjab (7 per cent) have lowered their numbers but are still far from the optimum 1 per cent suggested by the central government.
The percentage of 45+ age group getting first dose of vaccine stands at 38 per cent in which Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Bihar and Assam are lagging behind below 30 per cent. Better performing states are Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Karnataka.