6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 6.2 The government has numerous safeguards and procedures in place to reduce the risk of dose wastage. 6.3 UKHSA manages the central storage and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines for the UK programme. As of 30 July 2022, 946,525 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were destroyed or identified for destruction, accounting for 0.46% of the total vaccine volumes delivered and brought under UKHSA management. 6.4 NHSE is responsible for any wastage once vaccines have left UKHSA’s warehouses. As of 12 July 2022, the England programme had administered 125.9 million COVID-19 vaccinations. 5.04 million (4%) doses have been recorded as waste by vaccination sites and under 1 million (0.7%) doses reported as waste, expired or damaged by wholesale partners. These figures are significantly lower than the initial planning assumption of 15-20% total wastage. 6.5 Doses have been offered to other countries where not required by the UK domestic programme, though demand is now very low. The UK has offered the 100 million doses it committed to donate in 2021 and by 30 June 2022, the UK had donated over 84.4 million doses. 6.6 Recent procurements, targeting 2022 and 2023, have been against a reasonable worst-case scenario assumption. To date in 2022, it has not been necessary to extend the campaigns in line with the reasonable worst-case scenario. This, along with other factors including global supply for vaccines outstripping demand, will likely lead to an increase in wastage. 6.7 To combat wastage, the government has implemented an integrated business planning process to ensure supply risks are accounted for, contingency measures identified, and forecast demand is met as closely as possible. Contractual options to reduce, defer, or cancel inventory are also employed where available. 6.8 Details of future supply are commercially sensitive and so will be shared in confidence with the Committee in a letter.