Need To Keep COVID-19 Vaccine Wastage Below 1 Per Cent: Union Health Secretary

New Delhi: Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has urged the states and the union territories (UTs) to maintain vaccine wastage at less the an one per cent. His remarks came a day before the vaccination drive in the country is set to be extended for people above 45 years from April 1.

Mr. Bhushan held a high-level meeting through video conference with Health Secretaries, State Mission Directors of National Health Mission (NHM) and State Immunization officers of all states and UTs to review the status, pace and issues regarding COVID vaccination across the country as well as the preparations from April 1 when vaccination would be extended to all persons above the age of 45.

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During the review meeting, the Health Secretary urged the officials to ensure timely utilisation of available stocks of the COVID-19 vaccine. He asked officials “to maintain the vaccine wastage at less than one per cent and regularly review vaccine wastage across all levels”. Currently, the wastage percentage of the COVID-19 vaccine in the country is six per cent.

Mr. Bhushan also said that there should not be sedimentation of vaccine stocks at any level of storage. A total of 6.24 crore vaccine doses have been given across the country as on 7 pm on Tuesday (March 30), which marked the 74th day of vaccination. India reported 53,480 new COVID-19 cases and 354 related deaths in the last 24 hours, according to Union Health Ministry.

With these additional cases, the total number of infections in the country has reached 1,21,49,335. Eight states accounted for 84.73 per cent of the 53,480 COVID-19 cases registered in the country in the last 24 hours.

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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.