Headline RoundupSeptember 1st, 2021

At Least 15.1 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Wasted Since March

Summary from the AllSides News Team

At least 15.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been thrown away in the United States since March 1, according to government data received by NBC News through a public records request. According to the CDC, the national pharmacy chains that have self-reported the highest amount of wasted doses are Walgreens (2.6 million), CVS (2.3 million), Walmart (1.6 million) and Rite Aid (1.1 million). The number of reported discarded COVID-19 vaccine doses might be an undercount as the data does not include some states and federal agencies. However, as of Wednesday, approximately 443.7 million doses have been distributed in the U.S. — meaning that less than 3.5% of total doses have been wasted. 

The report was predominantly covered by left-rated and center-rated outlets. Left-rated outlets were more likely to highlight the wasted doses as "an equity issue" as many countries around the globe are still awaiting more vaccines.

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