RAIPUR/RANCHI: Branded the worst-performing states in terms of Covid-19 vaccine wastage, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand on Wednesday disputed the health ministry’s data and came out with their own statistics that show both as having fared several notches better than the national average of 6.3%. Chhattisgarh said it had already written to the Centre with accurate data to prove that the state hasn’t wasted even 1% of the doses it has received. “The percentage of wastage of vaccine doses sent by the Centre to Chhattisgarh is 0.81% and that of self-procured stock is 0.63%, both below the national average,” Dr Alok Shukla, principal secretary of the health department, told TOI. Chhattisgarh health minister T S Singh Deo tweeted the Centre should “seek help from someone who knows math”. Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and state health minister Banna Gupta issued statements claiming vaccine wastage of 4.65%. “ It is a conspiracy on part of the Centre to malign Jharkhand,” he had tweeted. Siddarth Tripathy, officer on special duty in the health department’s IEC wing, later said a meeting had been convened to “tally the exact figures and release these soon”.
Rates better than national average: Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand
