Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the Union Health Minister, wrote to Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma on Monday, demanding Sharma to investigate accusations of Covid-19 vaccination doses being wasted in the state.
“Taking serious cognisance of reports of wastage of Covid-19 vaccine doses in some places in Rajasthan, I’ve written a letter to state health minister @RaghuSharmaIINC and urged him to look into the issue. I’ve also asked him to make better preparations at the local level to avoid wastage of vaccine doses,” a rough translation of Harsh Vardhan’s tweet, posted in Hindi, read.
“Wastage of even a single dosage signifies failure in safeguarding an individual against Covid-19,” the Unihealth minister continued, quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the same tweet, he suggested that all states and union territories (UTs) aim for zero vaccination waste.
The Union health minister referenced stories from the Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar and Rajasthan Patrika in his letter. “Vaccine wastage is higher than the national average of less than 1% in practically all districts of Rajasthan. Furthermore, according to the Dainik Bhaskar storey, more than 500 bottles of Covid-19 vaccinations were discovered in the garbage bins of 35 Covid-19 immunisation centres across the state “he penned
“You would agree that the huge wastage is not acceptable,” Harsh Vardhan said in his letter.
Sharma, the state’s health minister, had earlier in the day tweeted that the Dainik Bhaskar article was “misleading” and devoid of facts.
Last Friday, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot accused the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of which Harsh Vardhan is a member, of making “deliberate attempts” to deceive the people by stating 1.15 million vaccination pills had been thrown away in the state.
The verbal sparring comes at a time when some states have reported vaccination shortages. Vaccination efforts have been halted in some states, at least for a portion of the population, due to a scarcity of vaccines.
