Ever since the beginning of COVID-19 vaccination drive in India, a Right to Information reply has revealed that a huge number of vaccine doses have been wasted by some states since India began inoculating people.
Tamil Nadu topping the list with wastage of over 12 per cent, followed by Haryana (9.74%), Punjab (8.12%), Manipur (7.8%) and Telangana (7.55%), the RTI revealed.
As per the data, till April 11, over 44 lakh doses were wasted out of 10 crore doses used by states.
On the contrary, Kerala, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Goa, Daman and Diu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep are the states that have achieved the least vaccine waste. There was "zero wastage" of doses in these states.
Amid the massive vaccination drive, few states like Maharashtra, Punjab and Delhi have indulged into a political debacle with the Central government. The governments of the respective states have also alleged that their vaccine allocation is less in proportion to the population compared to BJP-ruled states like Gujarat.
Yesterday, the Centre made a major announcement that all above 18 years of age will be eligible to take vaccination after May 1 while states can buy doses directly from vaccine-makers.
In the past few days, many states have sent out vaccine SOS but the central government has asserted that it is more about mismanagement and waste.
Meanwhile, ten states, including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, account for 77.67 per cent of the new COVID-19 infections reported in a day, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday. The daily COVID-19 positivity rate (7 day moving average) continues to show an upward trend and currently stands at 15.99 per cent, it said.
Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Rajasthan are among the other states in the list of 10.
