By Chris Brown

Joint statement

Vaccine wastage extremely limited, say Shandro and Hinshaw

Jan 5, 2021 | 10:42 AM

Health Minister Tyler Shandro and chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw say that while some vaccine wastage is unavoidable in large-scale vaccination programs, in the case of COVID-19 is “extremely limited” due to the processes in place.

Shandro and Hinshaw released a statement today to address misinformation circulating online.

In the statement, they explain that “doses are thawed and prepared according to pre-scheduled appointments, and appointments are overbooked to ensure that enough health-care workers are always in line.

“If a scenario arises where staff have no booked appointments left but there are thawed doses available, those administering the vaccines are able to vaccinate each other. The vaccine cannot be re-frozen or put in a fridge.”

The statement says a minimal amount of vaccine will be lost when drawing doses or if a vial is dropped or spilled.

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“While this is upsetting, it is unavoidable. It is also extremely limited thanks to the processes in place. In fact, COVID-19 immunization program to date has had significantly less wastage per administered dose than what occurs in a typical influenza immunization program. In fact, wastage in the COVID-19 vaccine program is at 0.3 per cent, and typical immunization programs can see wastage around 6 per cent.”

Officials are also working to further reduce wastage.