According to a government estimate, over 4.7 million Covid vaccination doses were thrown away in England by the end of October 2021.
According to the reports, 1.9 million AstraZeneca vaccinations were discarded.
However, the National Audit Office (NAO), which oversees government expenditures, claims that wastage is significantly lower than expected for the country’s most comprehensive immunization program ever.
The BBC reports: Experts had assumed 20% of stocks might not be used, because of handling and storage problems or expiry dates.
The report praises the rollout overall, but says there were challenges.
That includes being left with too many expiring AstraZeneca doses, after experts recommended that people under 40 should preferably be given the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, to avoid a rare but possible link to blood clots.
Some wastage was avoided by redirecting 4.5 million AstraZeneca doses to other countries, but stocks already at local sites had to be destroyed in line with regulations. Approximately 1.9 million doses were written off.
The NAO says the vaccine programme met “stretching and unprecedented targets” to save lives. Uptake exceeded expectations. By the end of October, it had administered around 87 million doses – about six times the number in the previous annual flu vaccine programme.
Despite the success and efforts to address inequalities, lower vaccination rates persist in some groups, such as pregnant women and black and Asian communities, the report warns.
And there are issues that could threaten the programme’s continuing success next winter: “Staffing issues, including burnout, and a lack of surplus capacity in the healthcare system, present substantial risks.”
Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “The vaccine programme has been successful in getting early access to what were brand new vaccines, securing supply of them, and administering them to a large proportion of the population at unprecedented speed.
“The programme must now redouble its efforts to reach those who are not yet vaccinated, while also considering what a more sustainable model will involve as it moves out of its emergency phase.”
Dr Gary Howsam, from the Royal College of GPs, said the health service had “pulled out all the stops” to ensure as many people as possible were protected from Covid.
