During Massachusetts’ vaccine rollout, the state has seen more than 1,200 doses go to waste, in addition to nearly 2,000 that spoiled last month at the Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center.
More than 1,200 coronavirus vaccine dose have been wasted so far during Massachusetts’ highly-scrutinized vaccine rollout, the state's Department of Public Health confirmed.
According to the DPH, 1,096 doses of the Moderna vaccine and 176 doses of the Pfizer vaccine were reported as wasted. NBC10 Boston obtained the data through a public records request.
Of the 960,100 doses shipped to date, this represents a vaccine wastage percentage of 0.13%, the DPH told NBC10 Boston in an email.
The wasted doses do not include the nearly 2,000 doses of vaccines spoiled last month at the Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center in Boston, the Boston Herald reported.
Gov. Charlie Baker is scheduled to tour a mass vaccination site in Danvers and provide an update on coronavirus vaccination efforts in Massachusetts on Wednesday morning.
The scheduled remarks come amid continued scrutiny over the Baker administration's rollout of its vaccination process, despite signs more appointments are becoming available for the state's elderly population.
Massachusetts started vaccinating residents 75 years and older earlier this month as it entered the second phase of its COVID-19 vaccination plan, joining first responders, healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities, who were eligible in Phase 1.
Various organizations, lawmakers, experts and residents have criticized Massachusetts' COVID-19 vaccination rollout, saying the sign-up process is difficult to navigate and appointments were hard to come by.
But the vaccine sign-up process has evolved as the state moves through the phases of its rollout plan. More and more people are able to sign up for vaccination appointments, but some have complained that the process is cumbersome or hard to understand.
As of Tuesday, 1,283,700 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been shipped to Massachusetts, according to the state. Health officials say 214,361 people have been fully vaccinated while 696,051 people have received one dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine.
