A new report found that since March, at least 15 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been discarded in the United States.
Government data obtained NBC News It was revealed that the pharmacy and the state government wasted much more doses than initially known. Of the wasted vaccines, some were caused by broken vials and incorrect dilution, while others were caused by more vials than people wanted.
Sharifah Sekalala, associate professor of global health law at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom, told NBC News that in the face of vaccine shortages in other countries, “we have encountered a situation where vaccines are wasted, which is really tragic.”
“Many parts of the southern part of the world are not vaccinated. The vaccination rate on the African continent is still below 10%. It’s just a huge inequality, and there are real problems,” Saicarara said.
NBC’s findings showed that the amount of vaccine wastage initially reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday almost doubled. CDC data shows that Walgreens wasted nearly 2.6 million doses, while CVS, Wal-Mart and Rite Aid wasted 2.3 million, 1.6 million and 1.1 million doses respectively.
CDC data is self-reported by pharmacies and government agencies and does not include all vaccine suppliers.
However, CDC spokesperson Kristen Nordlund said that the total amount of Covid vaccine wasted “is still extremely low, which proves that there is a strong partnership between the federal government, jurisdictions and vaccine suppliers.” , In order to allow as many people as possible to be vaccinated, and at the same time reduce the waste of vaccines in the entire system.” In an email.
Walgreens spokesperson Kris Lathan Tell Caesars Health News In May, “Our goal has always been to ensure that every dose of vaccine is used.”
Health officials recommend People get vaccinated as soon as possible because high demand for vaccines is associated with reducing wasted doses.
As of Tuesday, only over 205 million people in the United States have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and about 175 million people have been fully vaccinated. According to CDC.
