On Centre's 33% Vaccine Wastage Claim, Jharkhand Says Figure Is Only 1.5%

Jharkhand said it has received permission from the central ministry to rectify the related data and the vaccine wastage was 1.5 per cent in the state.

Terming the vaccine wastage figure of Jharkhand by the Centre at 33.95 per cent as "old data", theHemant Soren government Thursday said it has received permission from the central ministry to rectify the related data and the vaccine wastage was 1.5 per cent in the state. The efforts made by the state government including increasing the pace of inoculation has resulted in wastage of vaccine to 1.5 per cent from earlier 4.5 per cent, it said. As per the centre's data Kerala and West Bengal recorded negative wastage of COVID-19 vaccines in May, saving 1.10 lakh and 1.61 lakh doses respectively, while Jharkhand reported maximum wastage of 33.95 per cent. "We have already raised the issue with the centre during several rounds of video-conferencing. The 33.95 per cent wastage data is old one. The union ministry has given us permission to rectify the data on the portal. "The permission has been received by us only today and accordingly, we will rectify it as the wastage has come to 1.5 per cent," Jharkhand nodal officer for vaccination A Dodde told news agency PTI.