Probe ordered to find out how 1,000 doses of COVID vaccine get frozen

The authorities haveordered an investigation to find out how 1,000 doses ofCOVID-19 vaccine got frozen and wasted due to their storage insub-zero temperature violating norms at Silchar MedicalCollege and Hospital in Assam's Cachar district, an officialsaid on Wednesday.

The ongoing inoculation drive will not be affected bythis wastage, which came to light on Tuesday, as the districthas adequate stock of the vaccine, Cachar Deputy CommissionerKeerti Jalli said.

She said that 100 vials of Covishield vaccine werespoiled mainly due to lapses in the storage facility and coldstore management.

''We have, however, initiated an inquiry into theincident to ascertain the exact reason behind the lapses,''Jalli said.

The vaccination drive will not be hampered due tothis as ''we are prepared with enough stock and error marginwas also taken into account during the allocation of doses forthe district,'' she added.

National Health Mission Director in Assam, Dr SLakshmanan, said that show-cause notices have been issued tothose responsible for storing and supplying the vaccine.

The priority now is to ensure scientific disposal ofthe wasted doses, he added.

A senior doctor of Silchar Medical College andHospital said that the vaccines were supposed to be stored ata temperature of 2-8 degree Celsius.

However, it was found that the vials were kept insub-zero temperature and they got frozen and wasted.

Usually, an alert message is received if thetemperature in Ice Lined Refrigerators in which the vaccinesare stored rises or falls, but no such message was receivedwhen those vials were damaged, the doctor said.

It appears that there was some problem in themessaging system, he said.

In Cachar district, 11,710 healthcare workers arescheduled to be vaccinated in the first phase and there aretwo session sites in the district - Silchar Medical CollegeHospital and S M Dev Civil Hospital.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)