7.3% people already given at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose

India has vaccinated 7.3% of its population with the first dose of vaccine, three months after the rollout of the world’s largest Covid-19 public immunisation drive.

The health ministry has set a target of covering 20% of the population by Phase III, which covers all Indians above 45. The statistics collated by the Centre from Co-WIN portal, where states upload data on number of persons covered by first and second doses of Covid-19 vaccines, shows that of the total population of approximately 1,357 million, states had administered over 99.2 million first doses. India had rolled out its public immunisation drive against Covid-19 on January 16.

State-wise data puts smaller states and union territories with less population at the top of the chart in coverage. Ladakh, for instance, has covered 22.6% of its population with first dose. It is followed by Sikkim at 18.88%. Larger states with high Covid-19 active caseloads have a long way to go. Even though Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh — reporting highest single day spikes in the last three days — have covered 8.19% and 3.77%, respectively, of the total population with single dose. “UP is the most populous state. Inter-state comparisons should not be made as the population burden is high on states like UP, Maharashtra, MP,” a senior health ministry official said.

Other states reporting high numbers and marked states of concern for the health ministry provide a bright picture of vaccine coverage. Rajasthan, the second state after Maharashtra to cross 1 crore vaccinations, has covered 11.45% of population. Gujarat has covered 12.48% population. Chhattisgarh, third in terms of reporting active cases in the last one week, has covered 14.31% of the population. Kerala, which has administered almost 4.8 million first doses till 1 pm on April 15, has covered 14.28%. Delhi, which has seen a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases has covered 9.79% of its over 20 million population. Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Tamil Nadu have administered the first does to 5% to 7.5% of state population.

The Centre has maintained that it has never aimed to cover the entire population and it was not necessary. “Covering the whole population is not the aim as the vaccine is obviously not approved for anyone below 18. Also, it is not required to vaccinatd everyone to achieve immunity against a disease. This is why phase-wise targets are set,” said the official quoted above.