While the central government is steadily ramping up the vaccine supply, the need of the hour for the state governments is to use every single dose of the vaccine meticulously and not allow even one jab to get wasted. However, according to Health Ministry’s recently released data, states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu are topping the list of vaccine wastage with astronomically high numbers.
Jharkhand has recorded wastage as high as 37.3 per cent while Chhattisgarh came second with 30.2 per cent and Tamil Nadu reported 15.5 per cent wastage. It is imperative to note that the national average of doses being wasted is only 6.3 per cent.
When asked about the high percentage of numbers, nearly all three states representatives gave an identical response to shrug off from the responsibility, claiming there was a data mismatch.
“We have already taken this up. There is a data mismatch. There is vaccine usage data they haven’t taken into account. This was also taken up in the meeting with health minister Harsh Vardhan Ji and we were assured that till data is tallied it would not be released.” Chhattisgarh health minister T S Singh Deo told ET.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has disputed the data saying correct vaccination data could not be uploaded on the CoWin site because of glitches.
“As per total vaccine doses availability with Govt on Jharkhand till today, the current Vaccine Wastage proportion is only 4.65%. Vaccination data could not be fully updated to the central Co-Win Server/ Platform due to technical difficulties/glitches & the updation is in process.” tweeted Hemant Soren.
https://twitter.com/JharkhandCMO/status/1397459792554123268
This is the same Jharkhand CM who a couple of days back announced that his government will distribute free shrouds (kafans) for everyone in the state. Seems like vaccine wastage is one of the reasons why the people of the state will be needing ‘shrouds’ in the future.
“Nobody will have to purchase ‘shrouds’ in Jharkhand, as it will be made available to everyone for free all over State. (Sabhi logon ko kafan muft dia jayega)” the CM was heard as saying.
Read More: ‘Sabhi logon ko kafan muft dia jayega,’ Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s big humanitarian gesture
Such a large quantity of vaccine wastage in non-BJP ruled states hasn’t invited much of liberal media’s attention. But if the tables were to turn, and BJP states were topping the list, huge clamour would have followed, and the central administration would have been questioned for its vaccine management.
While planning any vaccination programme, the Wastage Multiplication Factor (WMF) is taken into consideration but with sky-high vaccine wastage percentage in the aforementioned states, something just doesn’t sit right. If the trend continues, the government should conduct an audit and see if the vaccines are reaching the right people or being hoarded in the process and shown in the vaccine wastage column. Seeing what has happened with the ventilators in Ashok Gehlot’s Rajasthan, the possibility cannot be ruled out.