The Indian states of Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Chattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh have alleged that data shared by the Health Ministry on vaccine wastage is "incorrect".
As per the federal Health Ministry, Jharkhand has wasted 37.3 percent of its vaccines, Chhattisgarh — 30.2 percent, Tamil Nadu —15.5 percent, Jammu and Kashmir — 10.8 percent and Madhya Pradesh 10.7 percent. The ministry claimed the national average of vaccine wastage is 6.3 percent.
Releasing the figures, the ministry urged to keep the wastage percentage below one percent. At present, the Indian government is allocating vaccines to states, depending on utilisation. In April, the government allowed state governments and private players to buy vaccines directly from manufacturers, but many states still prefer to buy from the federal government because the cost of procurement is lower than direct purchase from vaccine manufacturers.
Chattisgarh's state chief later took to Twitter and said, the "data is mismatched".
#Clarification
— CMO Chhattisgarh (@ChhattisgarhCMO) May 26, 2021
This data is incorrect. We have already written to @MoHFW_INDIA regarding the same.
Our team is in touch with @MoHFW_INDIA to resolve the data issues.
Attaching here the actual percentage of vaccine wastage and the letter written by us. https://t.co/zCSaoLovL0 pic.twitter.com/vqhKGyxLFX
Chhattisgarh, as per CoWIN:
— TS Singh Deo (@TS_SinghDeo) May 26, 2021
- Vaccines Received: 72,90,210
- Vaccines in Stock: 10,31,230
- Vaccines Given: 61,99,637
- Wastage: 0.95%
According to Modi Govt's CoWin, 61.99 lakh beneficiaries received certificates with PM's pic, generated from CoWin
30% wastage is FAKE NEWS⚠️
According to the Chhattisgarh Health Department, its vaccine wastage is 0.83% in the 45+ age group and 0.63% in the 18-44 year age group.
Jharkhand has also refuted the federal Health Ministry's claim and clarified that its vaccine wastage is only 4.6 percent, not 37.3 percent. State Health Minister Banna Gupta said the centre is using "lies" and "deception" to "malign" the Jharkhand government.
झूठ फरेब और जुमलेबाजी के सहारे केन्द्र सरकार झारखंड को बदनाम कर रही हैं,आंकड़ो के बाजीगरी और फर्जी आंकड़े जारी करने का क्या मकसद हैं?
— Banna Gupta (@BannaGupta76) May 26, 2021
क्या इसी तरह के फर्जी आंकड़ो के साथ पूरे देश को गुमराह किया जा रहा है?
आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री जी, गौर फरमाइए, झारखंड की वैक्सीन की स्थिति ये हैं:- pic.twitter.com/GS3mTdLXlr
अपनी हताशा में भाजपा हर रोज़ एक नया शिगूफ़ा छोड़ती है।
— Hemant Soren (@HemantSorenJMM) May 26, 2021
आज उन्होंने कहा की हमने 37% वैक्सीन बर्बाद कर दी। यह आँकड़ा ना सिर्फ़ भ्रामक बल्कि हास्यास्पद भी है।
अभी तक कुल प्राप्त 48, 63, 660 लाख वैक्सीन में भारत सरकार के ही आँकड़ों के हिसाब से 40 लाख 12 हज़ार 269 वैक्सीन 1/3
"They calculate the figures as to how many doses distributed by the centre to the states and then how many beneficiaries are getting inoculated via the Cowin App", a senior official from the federal Health Ministry told Sputnik.
Currently, all beneficiary data is uploaded to the Cowin App at the end of each day, either by the individuals themselves or by state officials.
"At the district level, this data is not always entered in the Cowin software. The states maintain spreadsheets manually. But, if it does not reflect in our system, we take it as wastage", the official further added.
This is not the first time the states have challenged the federal government's vaccine wastage statistics. Earlier in March, the Indian states of Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana contested when they were put at the top of the list.
