India Slips In Covid Vaccine Doses Per 100 Population
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2021-11-19 14:49:59
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Despite record vaccination in September, vaccination coverage has slipped in India to remain below the global average in terms of doses per 100 population as well as percentage of people fully vaccinated. With just 81 doses per 100 persons, India now ranks 16th on the list of 29 countries with population above 50 million. China tops the chart with 164 doses per 100 persons while Brazil (139) and Mexico (100) are among countries that have done better than India.
This is a worrying factor. The government has celebrated (and rightly so) the many milestones reached in the world's largest vaccination drive but the comparison with global figures show that a lot still remains to be done. It seems that somehow the vaccination drive has petered out in October and November after the high in September, despite supply of doses not being a constraint.
Coupled with this are two disturbing reports - the first that people are not coming forward for the second dose and lakhs of such doses are overdue and second that many vials are nearing their expiry date (Covishield has a shelf life of just 6 months).
Various state government are exploring many ways to bring the second dose recipients to the centres, failing which they are even thinking of going to their homes to vaccinate them. Private hospitals have started discount offers to find buyers for the soon-to-expire stocks. Disconcertingly, people are still not coming forward to take the jab.
This is one problem that the governments, both at the Centre and the states, have to tackle at war footing. Although Covid medicines are now coming out, vaccination remains the best shield against coronavirus. With talks of the third dose gaining traction, India needs to fully vaccinate its adult population as early as possible and should simultaneously start vaccinating children, if possible from December as schools have reopened in almost all states.
