Question reference: S5W-35720
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 4 March 2021
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Current status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 11 March 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-35154 by Mairi Gougeon on 2 March 2021, what flexibility COVID-19 vaccinators have regarding the disposal of unused doses before they become unsuitable for use, including vaccinating people who attend the centres on an unscheduled "walk-in" basis.
Answer
Guidance has been issued to boards on the correct process for managing waste. This was circulated to boards at the end of January.
A contingency plan should be put in place to manage the risk when less vaccine than expected is used during a clinic. Examples include maintaining a reserve list to ensure vaccine is not wasted (e.g. care home or front line health and social care staff or second doses). Ideally this should be from within the same cohort however the JCVI has also indicated that there should be some flexibility in including other cohorts concurrently. If the remainder of the vaccine is in un-punctured vials, which are still in the fridge, consider whether subsequent orders can be reduced. Sites should be aware of local arrangements with other immunisation services who would be able to utilise the spare vaccine within short notice.
While at this stage there is little known with regard to projected uptake and attendance rates, scheduling teams and planners should liaise to monitor this closely in order to ensure the pharmacy is supplying an optimal number doses and maximising the use of the supply chain.
A copy of the guidance at present is not online, but is currently being prepared for publication and will be available at : Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)