iStockMore than 4400 doses of coronavirus vaccine were wasted in Scotland in one week, figures have revealed.
Statistics published by the Scottish Government under freedom of information requests showed that in the week ending August 1, a total of 4,448 doses of vaccine were not administered.
Between February and July the number totalled 34,026.
The Scottish Government said there are “several reasons a vaccine may not be administered before being discarded, and therefore ‘wasted’”, including issues with storage, expired doses and “specific clinical situations where there may be some dose loss”.
The figures covered all three of the coronavirus vaccines being given in Scotland – Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna – with the total wasted amounting to 0.51% of the 6,643,551 jabs given.
However the statistics do not include wastage of vaccines in GPs practices, as “GPs do not record this information”.
The figures were released as the Scottish Government continues to urge everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
From Monday this will include healthy youngsters aged between 12 and 15, after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the vaccine programme was being expanded following advice from the UK’s chief medical officers.
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