Assessment of vaccine wastage during a pulse polio immunization programme in India

A study to assess the wastage factor of oral polio vaccine (OPV) in the Pulse Polio Immunization (PPI) programme of the Government of India was undertaken by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) at approximately 31,000 immunization booths all over the country. The study was conducted through the network of 31 Human Reproduction Research Centres (HRRCs) and other ICMR institutes. Wastage at the point of administration of OPV was estimated to be 14.5% with a wastage factor of 1.17 which is well below the assumed wastage of 33% and the corresponding wastage factor of 1.5 in the PPI programme. The wastage and wastage factor as estimated in the present study were also less than the wastage of 25% and the wastage factor of 1.33 recommended by the World Health Organization. Minimum wastage (6.3%) at Kanchipuram and maximum wastage (22.1%) at Kanpur were observed. Further, the wastage of unopened vials and vials during use was also observed following colour changes on the vaccine vial monitor (VVM), indicating poor cold-chain maintenance at the immunization site. In total, 13 booths reported wastage of nine or more unopened vials, whereas 19 booths reported wastage of nine or more vials during use because of colour changes on VVM. Other reasons for wastage of vaccine were also observed from a sample of booths. The technology of introducing VVM on OPV vials for monitoring the cold-chain proved useful in situations in which mass vaccination programmes such as PPI are carried out.