Covid-19 Vaccines in Silchar Gets Frozen, Over 1000 Damaged

Silchar: At a time when the entire nation is waiting for the Covid -19 vaccines, over 1000 vaccines were damaged in an unfortunate incident at Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) in Assam.

Reportedly, the vaccines were destroyed by the ice accumulation in the preserved state. The vaccines have been turned to ice as they were kept below 14 degree Celsius.

Each vial consists of 5 ml of the dose and over 10 people receive 0.5 ml doses from one vial. 

The vials have been sent from one location to the other using an Ice Lined Refrigerator (ILR) that used for keeping vaccines safe as the ice lining maintains the inside temperature of the refrigerator at a safe level for vaccines if the electricity supply fails.

A senior doctor of the district health department said that the vaccinator gets a message on his/her phone whenever the temperature falls or rises beyond the danger level, but yesterday it seems to be a failure in the messaging system as the vaccinator did not receive the warning message.

Following the incident, the health department provided 100 more COVID-19 vaccines to the medical college.

However, Dr PK Rai, who was in charge of the vaccines, was summoned by the department and was ordered to take the damaged vaccine to Guwahati.

According to a report, the director of National Health Mission, Assam, Dr S Lakshmanan questioned the doctors why there were more than 1000 doses when there were only 98 beneficiaries listed to get the dose yesterday. Dr Lakshmanan further stated that this is 10 times more than the requirement which was sent by from the Central Storage located in Silchar Civil Hospital. On that, the doctors stated that it is possible that the doses were sent because SMCH has adequate storage capabilities.

Speaking to the media, Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that if the incident has been done purposefully then strict action will be taken against the concerned person.

It is to be mentioned that the largest vaccination drive was started on January 16 across the nation and in Silchar, the vaccination sessions were held in two premises- SM Dev Civil Hospital, and Silchar Medical College and Hospital. Meanwhile on the same day, Silchar Medical has vaccinated as many as 100 beneficiaries with the vaccines.

In phase one of the vaccinations in Cachar, around 11,710 healthcare workers will get the doses.

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