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

Topics
Coronavirus Vaccine | Coronavirus | Vaccine

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

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 ...

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First Published: Mon, March 22 2021. 01:08 IST
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