PLAYED: Over 15 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been dumped in the US since March, government data says

Recently released data shows that not only have Covid-19 vaccination rates lag in the United States, but over 15 million doses have actually been discarded.

Millions of doses were studied by pharmacies and state governments, which have been responsible for distributing them since March 1, according to government data.

Data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week shows that large chains tasked with inoculating citizens have lost millions of vaccine doses. The pharmacy chain Walgreens has reported approximately 2.6 million wasted doses, while rival pharmacy chain CVS has had approximately 2.3 million.

Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma reported the most wasted doses.

Spilled doses in July were 4.7 million, an increase of 300,000 from the 4.4 million wasted doses reported in July. August was slightly lower with 3.8 million wasted doses reported.

More than 360 vaccine doses have been administered in the United States and more than 440 “Delivered” in the United States and more than 100 million more to other countries.

CVS responded directly to the report, in which a spokesman for the company boasted to NBC that the company has administered tens of millions of vaccines and “When we are given the opportunity to potentially save a life or improve our reported waste rates a little, we always choose the first."

The specific reasons for each of these doses are not known as the information is provided independently, but Covid-19 vaccine doses may be controlled due to a cracked vial or a malfunction in the freezer that causes them to be kept at the wrong temperature. When vials contain fewer doses than they should, this can also lead to one “Waste report."

CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund has insisted that spilled vaccines remain minimal in relation to doses that are actually used.

The number of wasted doses, she told NBC News, “Remains extremely low, which is a sign of the strong partnership between the federal government, jurisdictions and vaccine providers to get as many people vaccinated as possible while reducing vaccine waste across the system."

Health officials from the Biden administration have already announced that they intend to unveil a plan to recommend booster shots on top of the doses that millions of Americans have already received in response to rising numbers of cases and the delta variant.

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