Fifty-five per cent of India’s eligible adult population is now fully vaccinated, according to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. And his Ministry admitted that as on December 9, 2021, there were 2,410 COVID-19 doses having an expiry date this month.
The Statewise details of doses having expiry dates this month and available in government stores are Rajasthan (100 doses of Covaxin), Maharashtra (10 doses of Covaxin), Ladakh and Maharashtra (400 and 1,900 doses of Covishield).
This was stated in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The Ministry stated that the expiry date of vaccines at private hospitals had not been maintained centrally.
In private hospitals
Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar in her reply in the House, said, “However, we closely monitor COVID-19 vaccine stocks in the States so as to ensure their optimal utilisation. The vaccine stock that has not been utilised in private hospitals and nearing expiry are usually taken up for redistribution by respective State governments for their timely utilisation.”
The States have also been advised to review programme coverage and vaccine wastage on a daily basis and redistribute the vaccine stock if required, she observed.
The Ministry said, “Currently, more than 17.06 crore balance and unutilised doses are still available with the States. India on Tuesday reported 5,784 new COVID cases in the last 24 hours, lowest in 571 days”.
Vaccine manufacturing capacity
Giving details of the vaccine manufacturing capacity, Dr. Pawar, in a written reply, noted that the current production capacity of Covishield was approximately 250-275 million doses a month, while Bharat Biotech International Limited manufactured Covaxin approximately 50-60 million doses a month. “Both companies have achieved close to 90% of present production capacity,” she pointed out.
As per the provisions of the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019, under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and in light of an urgent need due to the pandemic in the country, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has granted permission to other COVID-19 vaccines also for restricted use in emergency situation.
A senior official in the Ministry confirmed that the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) were deliberating and considering scientific evidences related to administration of booster doses as well as vaccination of beneficiaries aged less than 18 years.
Replying to a question on details of international financial aid received during the pandemic with amounts and the institution, the Ministry said that as per details received from Department of Economic Affairs, a grant of $3 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) was received through UNICEF for procurement of mass thermal scanners at points of entries for screening of international passengers.
