Assam: 1,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine spoiled at Silchar hospital

A total of 1,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine were spoiled at the Silchar Medical College Hospital (SMCH) in Assam’s Cachar district as they were stored at sub-zero temperatures. The

A total of 1,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine were spoiled at the Silchar Medical College Hospital (SMCH) in Assam’s Cachar district as they were stored at sub-zero temperatures.

The incident came to light on Monday night after the health department was reported on January 16.

Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the incident might have occurred due to the lack of training as the officials concerned could not store the vaccine properly. The minister informed that senior officials will go to the hospital to review the lapses.

“I was informed that some doses had frozen in the cold storage. But the Covid vaccine storage system is very new. Maybe there was a lack of training for the officials for which the incident happened. But if we find that someone has done it deliberately, such officials will be punished,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

The district immunization officer informed that the vaccine were partially frozen at -5 to -6 degrees.

It is be noted that the directions had been given to store the vaccines at a temperature of 2 to 8 celsius. The incident has come as a major shock and has raised questions on the way the vaccines are being kept at storehouses.

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