Rajasthan minister, authorities deny vaccine wastage claims in state

Bundi (Rajasthan) [India], June 3 : After Covid-19 vaccine wastage was reported in several districts of Rajasthan, many state ministers, and authorities concerned have come forth to deny such claims.
State Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasara believes that the Centre is falsely accusing the state of vaccine wastage. Rajasthan is among the states which have reported the least wastage of Covid-19 vaccines, he added.
"In the whole state of Rajasthan, there has not been any wastage above 10 per cent, as guided by the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan. Rajasthan is in the bottom list of the vaccine wastage list of the Indian states. There are claims that the Bundi district reported 25 per cent wastage but it is actually only 2 per cent. Same is the case with other districts also. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government that failed to provide adequate vaccines, is now falsely accusing so that they garner good attention for themselves and Modi Ji would be shamed a little less. This is being deliberately done by the BJP leaders," said Dotasara while speaking to media persons.

From a single vial, 10 to 11 beneficiaries can be vaccinated. When a vial is opened, the doses are to be administered within four hours. In the primary health centres of Khatkad, Lakeri and Indergarh in the Bundi district, healthcare workers are compelled to throw vaccine doses in the dustbin as only a few villagers came for vaccination, as per ground reports.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Cabinet Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas strongly refused to accept vaccine wastage and said the Centre is trying to distract people with rumours.
"This is not a controversy. The leaders of BJP wish to distract the public with such talks. The Centre did not provide adequate vaccines for 18-44 year olds. There is not a single vaccine available for them," said the Cabinet Minister.
On the contrary, BJP state president Satish Poonia called the vaccine wastage situation in the state an "unfortunate" situation in the midst of a global pandemic.
"The state government will be known in history for wasting Covid-19 vaccines amid the pandemic. It is unfortunate to do such a thing. The central government made an adequate allocation of the vaccines, but to witness vaccines being wasted in the state. This is negligence on the part of the state government. It would be difficult to answer that why such wastages happen in Congress-led states," he said.

According to the Red Cross vaccination centre in-charge Manoj Kumar, no specific reason has come to light for vaccine wastage. While speaking to ANI, he said, "No reason has come to light so far for vaccine wastage in Rajasthan. The dose that is opened deteriorates over four hours. Only when 4-5 people gather then only the vaccine vial must be opened and they should be vaccinated. We follow this procedure so that no vaccine dose is wasted at our centre."
His companion at the centre, Gajanand Kaahar, store in-charge also denied vaccine wastage claims at the centre.
Alwar district vaccination in-charge Dr Arvind Gate told ANI that 0.11 per cent Covaxin and 0.89 per cent Covishield has been reported to be wasted.
"The vaccination administered on the basis of online appointment has reduced the vaccine wastage to less than 1 per cent," he said.
He further said, "In Umren village, Alwar, 300 doses were wasted three months ago. Later, the amount was recovered with fine."
Meanwhile, Ajmer Chief Medical Health Officer KK Soni said no vaccine is being wasted in the district.
"A new vial is opened only when seven people are present," he added.
According to official data, Rajasthan recorded 1,276 new cases, 65 deaths and 6,038 recoveries on Wednesday. The active case tally stood at 32,650.