1,000 doses of Covishield vaccine found frozen, damaged at cold storage in Assam
Guwahati: Around 1,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine were found damaged at the Silchar Medical College & Hospital (SMCH) in Assam’s Cachar district. The vaccine doses were found lying frozen in the vaccine store unit of SMCH.
und 1,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine were found damaged at the Silchar Medical College & Hospital (SMCH) in Assam’s Cachar district. The vaccine doses were found lying frozen in the vaccine store unit of SMCH.

According to reports, about 100 vials of Covishield vaccine, containing 1,000 doses, were stored at sub-zero temperatures. The Covishield vaccine require to be stored at a temperature of 2-8 degrees Celsius, but the temperature of the ILR at Silchar Medical College & Hospital went below zero.

A health official at Cachar district said that the vaccines were found partially frozen.

“There might be some technical fault of the Ice-Lined Refrigerator (ILR). We generally regulate the temperature of ILR between 2-8 degrees Celsius. When the temperature goes down, the ILR machine sends a message. But our vaccinator didn’t get any message and most probably it was a technical fault. The vaccines were stored the whole night and somehow the temperatures had dropped,” the health official said.

Meanwhile, Assam health department has decided to send another batch of 100 vials of the Covishield containing 1,000 doses to the Silchar Medical College & Hospital as replacement.

On the other hand, the state health department has sought a report from the hospital authority following the incident.