From vaccine wastage to highest extractor of doses: How Tamil Nadu changed the script of its vaccination story

In the past few months, the state’s vaccination drive picked up with people queuing up before PHCs and other vaccination centres to get inoculated

In the initial months of the Covid-19 vaccination drive, Tamil Nadu not just encountered vaccine hesitancy among the eligible population but also topped the vaccine wastage chart. Months later, Tamil Nadu has not just achieved zero wastage of vaccines but has leapt to top the list of states that have extracted extra doses from the vials.

As per data released by the Union Health Ministry, Tamil Nadu has extracted 5.88 lakh additional doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from May 1 to July 13, followed by West Bengal (4.87 lakh), Gujarat (4.62 lakh), Kerala (3.92 lakh), and Maharashtra (3.59 lakh). The wastage was nil.

This is in complete contrast with the state’s performance reported in the first few months of the vaccination drive. According to data available, the state wasted 4.5 lakh doses between January 16 and April 20, even as it battled vaccine hesitancy.

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In the past few months, the state’s vaccination drive picked up with people queuing up before Primary Health Centers (PHCs) and other vaccination centres to get inoculated. The turnaround came after the drive was opened for 18-44 years of age in mid-May.

After a few weeks, the state had to suspend the drive due to a shortage of vaccines – Tamil Nadu has been complaining that it was not getting a “fair deal” from the Union Government, even as the state reports vaccine shortage every now and then. At last, on July 25, the state has administered 2.08 crore doses of which 14.04 lakh were given by private hospitals.

“Every vial will have at least 10 per cent additional dosage. As the vaccine hesitancy came down and people began queuing up outside vaccination centres, our healthcare workers were not just able to use the vial fully, but also extract additional doses from them. Also, we rationalised vaccination centres based on demand which helped us,” J Radhakrishnan, Principal Secretary (Health), told DH.

A vial contains 10 doses and should be used within four hours of opening it. As the vaccine hesitancy was high in Tamil Nadu in the first few months, the wastage could not be prevented, healthcare workers said, adding that several doses were wasted as they could not find people to administer them.

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“Kerala began extracting additional doses from the vials when the vaccination drive was launched in January. We achieved vaccine extraction much later because of a slew of factors including vaccine hesitancy in the beginning. Our healthcare staff could get 11 doses in most vials, while they squeezed out 12 doses too in many cases,” Radhakrishnan added.

Public health expert Dr K Kolandaswamy told DH that the experience gained by healthcare workers and the relative easiness in administering the vaccine has led to the extraction of additional doses. “Vaccine wastage can be avoided when there is no reluctance. And the efficiency of our healthcare workers has been demonstrated in the way they have extracted additional doses from vials,” he added.

The state is also finding ways to further ramp up its vaccination drive by opening free vaccination in private hospitals by finding a novel way to use the vaccine doses that are lying unused from their quota. The government has allowed corporates to use their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds to buy vaccines from private hospitals and administer them to people free of cost.