Vaccine Wastage Rate Calculator

Work out vaccine wastage rate instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Vaccine Wastage Rate Calculator

Divides unused doses by doses issued to give the wastage rate, and converts it into the multiplier used when forecasting vaccine requirements.

Formula

Wastage rate and factor

Wastage rate (%) = (issued - administered) / issued x 100; wastage factor = issued / administered = 1 / (1 - wastage rate)

Worked example

With the default values below, Vaccine Wastage Rate Calculator returns Wastage rate of 12.00%. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Doses issuedaccepts 1–1,000,000: 1,000
Doses administeredaccepts 0–1,000,000: 880

Results

Wastage rate: 12.00%
Doses wasted: 120
Wastage multiplier for forecasting: 1.136
Assessment: Above the common 10% planning allowance

Step by step

1Values used
2Wastage rate and factor
3Wastage rate= 12.00
4Doses wasted= 120
5Wastage multiplier for forecasting= 1.136
6Assessment= Above the common 10% planning allowance

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 2 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is a wastage factor used in forecasting?

Orders must cover doses that will be discarded, so the target population is multiplied by the factor.

What causes most wastage?

Open-vial wastage in small sessions, cold chain breaches, expiry and breakage.