Understanding the Relationship between Vaccine Supply Dead Space and Wasted COVID-19 Vaccine Doses

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Yago Marcos Pessoa-Gonçalves, Ana Lucia Gonçalves de Jesus, Chamberttan Souza Desidério, Gabrielly Amanda Minchio, Arthur de Sousa Louzada, Marcos Massao Shimano, Carlo José Freire Oliveira
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2023
• Subjects: Dead Space; Needles; Residual volume; Syringes; Vaccine Supplies; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0353-2023; https://doaj.org/article/2eb952b74f1e4e478c846916e7d5b463

ABSTRACT Introduction: By July 2023, Brazil had administered approximately 540 million COVID-19 vaccine doses. This study aimed to quantify wasted doses resulting from dead space in vaccine supplies. Methods: The vaccine supply was initially weighed, filled with distilled water, and expelled to simulate administration. Weighing it again after the application determined the dead space volume. Descriptive analyses calculated the waste rate/wasted dose count. Results: The estimated total number of wasted vaccine doses using supplies with the lowest dead space was 62,097,338. Conclusions: Syringe dead space is a crucial factor in dose wastage, directly influencing the number of wasted doses.