Wastage rate of BCG Vaccine

The wastage rate of a vaccine refers to the percentage of vaccine doses that are discarded or unused and cannot be administered to patients. This can happen for various reasons, including:

1. Expiration: Doses expire before they can be used.
2. Vial Opening: Once a vial is opened, any remaining doses not used within a specified time (such as 4 hours for reconstituted BCG) must be discarded.
3. Damage: Vials that are damaged or exposed to improper temperatures.
4. Contamination: Vials that are contaminated during handling.

The wastage factor is a multiplier used to estimate the additional quantity of vaccines needed to account for expected losses. It helps ensure that enough doses are available to meet the target coverage despite wastage. The wastage factor can be calculated using the following formula:

• For example, if the wastage rate is 10% (0.10), the wastage factor would be: = 1/1-0.10 = 1/0.90 = 1.11
• This means that for every 100 doses needed, an additional 11 doses should be planned to account for wastage, making a total of 111 doses required.

Monitoring and minimizing the wastage rate is crucial to ensure the efficient use of vaccine supplies and to maximize the number of individuals who can be vaccinated.

* Wastage rate for aBCG is 10% for campaign mode & the WMF will be 100/(100-10)= 1.11