WITH NEARLY two lakh doses of Covishield vaccine expiring on Saturday in private hospitals across Maharashtra, the state government is planning to seek clarity from the Centre about the disposal procedure of such vials.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has asked private hospitals to refrain from destroying the vaccines until further directions. Under the existing rules, expired vials are disposed of under the laid protocols of hazardous and biomedical waste.
“This is a new issue which has emerged during the pandemic. So, I am going to ask the Centre to provide clarity and guidelines. Also, we will hold a meeting with the nodal officers and experts in the field of bio-medical waste before directing the private hospitals,” said Rajesh Tope, state health minister.
Last year, the Central Drugs Standard Organisation (CDSO) approved the shelf life of Covid-19 vaccines — Covaxin to 12 months and Covishield to nine months. Considering this, the unused Covishield vials of batch number 110 that was produced nine months back are viable only till Friday midnight. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) claims that by March-end, over 52 lakhs of doses will expire in the state.
With no clarity on disposal protocols, private hospitals will have to keep these vials in cold storage.
Kokilaben Hospital, where around 12,000 doses of Covishield will expire on Saturday has written to its manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India (SII), for the guidelines to dispose of the vials. “We are still waiting for a response from SII to get a decision on the disposal of the vials,” said Dr Santosh Shetty, Executive Director and CEO of the hospital.
A Chembur-based hospital, which has one lakh doses of Covishield with a shelf life till March 5 has approached the BMC seeking guidelines. “We don’t know if there is a specific protocol for the disposal of Covid-19 vials. So, we have asked the BMC to provide us with the details,” said the hospital’s director.
Suresh Kakani, Additional Commissioner, BMC said that the hospitals should preserve the expired vials until further clarity. “We have verbally communicated with the Centre about the issue and are waiting for their response. The hospitals can keep the expired vials in their freezers with other vials as it doesn’t involve additional charges or requirements. Once we have the guidelines, they can dispose of the expired ones,” he said.
According to the protocol of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the expired vaccines and drugs are classified as hazardous waste and are incinerated at Navi Mumbai, Raigad, Nagpur and Pune in Maharashtra.
Explaining the present protocols, Dr Amar Supate, Chief Scientific Officer of Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), said that if a vaccine vial is opened, it is disposed of under the protocols of biomedical waste that are considered as contagious. In the case of unopened vials, it is considered hazardous waste.
“The hospitals send back the expired vials to the manufacturers, who under the existing act are responsible for sending it to the disposal facilities,” he said.
Till March 3, the state had administered 15,61,43,028 doses of vaccines, the second-highest in India after Uttar Pradesh. Over 91 per cent of the eligible population above 18-years in the state has taken the first dose while over 71 per cent have been fully vaccinated. However, a total of 1.64 crore individuals have missed their scheduled second doses.