New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged district officials to guard against Covid vaccine wastage, saying it is “critical… you all must ensure we don’t have any wastage”.

He said wasting even one dose of a vaccine – of which there is an acute shortage as the government battles a devastating second wave of coronavirus infections and deaths.

“There is the issue of vaccine wastage. When vaccines are delivered to you all, we must ensure there is no wastage. You all must monitor this in both urban and rural areas. Stopping vaccine wastage is critical and you all must ensure that we don’t have any (wastage),” he said.

The Prime Minister was speaking to officials from 11 states, including Maharashtra, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh – three of the five most badly affected by the second wave.