Karnataka Government Orders Private Hospitals Not to Reuse Vials Once Opened

The Karnataka government on 28 December, restricted private hospitals from following the open vial policy.

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The Karnataka government on Tuesday, 28 December, restricted private hospitals from following the open vial policy.

The state government issued a notification saying that private hospitals will not be permitted to reuse vials once opened.

Once opened, a vial will have to be used within 4 hours itself, the order read.

The order comes days after Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer-Bharat Biotech announced that opened vials of its vaccine (Covaxin) against COVID-19 can be stored for up to 28 days.

The vaccine maker had also said that the open vials need not be discarded immediately in a day or at the end of the immunisation session.

Earlier in June this year, the government had advised vaccinators to mention the date and time of opening of each vial.

The Centre had also said that the vials be used or discarded within 4 hours of opening.

"Vaccine manufacturing takes a lot of time and the demand for these exceed the supply many times. Thus it is important to monitor and ensure that the precious tools to address the pandemic is should be used optimally and judiciously," the Centre had stated in a directive.