News
Extra liquid in vaccine vial to be used following ST report
View(s):Extract an extra dose from each vaccination vial if there is adequate liquid left, the Health Ministry instructed on Monday.
The Sunday Times last week in a report headlined ‘COVID-19 vaccine: 18,000 discarded due to absurd stance’ revealed how an extra dose that is usually present in each vaccine vial was being discarded, with estimates amounting to 18,000 doses gone waste.
On Monday, the Director-General of Health Services, Dr. Asela Gunawardena informed all Provincial and Regional Directors of Health and Heads of Line Ministry Institutions that “it has been brought to my notice that sometimes, the remaining liquid is adequate for the administration of another dose (i.e. 0.5ml)”.
“Therefore, you are requested to inform all staff engaged in COVISHIELD immunisation to administer another dose, if the remaining liquid in the vial after drawing the tenth dose, is adequate for another dose,” he instructed.
Following the Sunday Times report, the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka summoned an emergency meeting the same day to discuss the matter, informing the Epidemiology Unit to immediately redress this situation where vaccine doses were being discarded.