CVS, Walgreens Wasted a Lot of COVID Vaccine Doses
A Walgreens sign is seen in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn on February 09, 2021 in New York City. Uber and Walgreens announced today a partnership to offer free rides in communities of color to vaccination sites. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a greater effect in communities largely made up of Black and Hispanic people. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Major national pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens were found to account for a huge portion of wasted COVID vaccine doses, according to government data.

A total of 182,874 wasted doses were recorded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as of late March.

CVS was responsible for nearly half of the wasted doses, while Walgreens is responsible for 21 percent. A total of 128,500 wasted shots combined, according to an ABC News report.

The CDC data reported showed that the pharmaceutical companies have wasted more doses as compared to states, U.S. territories, and federal agencies combine.

Pfizer got a huge chunk of wasted doses, with nearly 60 percent tossed aside. It was the first vaccine candidate to be deployed first and initially required storage at ultracold temperatures.

Meanwhile, the CDC data did not elaborate how the two chains wasted so much more vaccine as compared to other involved states and federal agencies.

Reasons Behind the Wasted Doses

Critics are claiming that it is due to poor planning early in the rollout, noting that the Trump administration has leaned heavily on CVS and Walgreens for the vaccination program.

Walgreens quietly ignored CDC and Food and Drug Administration's guidance on dosing schedules.

The pharmaceutical company has given both Moderna and Pfizer shots four weeks apart instead of administering the second Pfizer dose after the appropriate days, according to a Daily Mail report.

In addition, some people had their second dose appointments abruptly canceled.

Officials in Mississippi have called the partnership a "fiasco," pointing a finger at companies for the slow rollouts during the first weeks.

Dr. Michael Wasserman, past president of the California Association of Long Term Care Medicine, said that this related to poor planning.

"CVS and Walgreens didn't have a clue when it came to interacting with nursing homes," Wasserman was quoted in a report.

Katie Fowlie, a CDC spokesperson, said that the wasted doses are not unexpected.

"Though every effort is made to reduce the volume of wastage in a vaccination program, sometimes it's necessary to identify doses as 'waste' to ensure anyone wanting a vaccine can receive it, as well as to ensure patient safety and vaccine effectiveness," Fowlie was quoted in The Guardian report.

Meanwhile, Texas was the most wasteful single state with more than 9,200 doses thrown out.

Overall, about 75 percent of wasted doses were thrown out by pharmacies, while 23 percent of wasted doses were thrown out by states, territories, and programs like Indian Health Service's.

Throwing out doses does not only have health implications as it also means that huge amounts of money were misused.

As much as $5.2 million was wasted on the missed vaccine doses as each dose given to the pharmaceutical companies cost the government about $40.

The first COVID vaccination program has first occurred in December, marking the country's largest immunization campaign.

The U.S. vaccination initially aimed to reach 100 million people by April, according to a BBC News report.

WATCH: CVS, Walgreens to transfer doses of vaccine to other Utah providers - from Fox 13 News Utah