69% of 60+ and 73% of those aged 45-59 fully vaccinated

69% of 60+ and 73% of those aged 45-59 fully vaccinated

55% Of Those In 18-44 Age Group Have Got Both Shots

Rema.Nagarajan@timesgroup.com

01.01.2022

India finished 2021 well short of the target of fully vaccinating the entire adult population by year-end, announced in May. However, over 90% of the target population has received one dose and about 64% have been fully vaccinated as of 7 pm on Friday. Himachal Pradesh is the only state which has fully vaccinated its entire population while Punjab has the smallest proportion of fully-vaccinated population, just over 40%.

A total of over 145 crore doses of vaccine have been administered and the Centre said over 16. 9 crore doses were lying with the states as of Friday morning. Thus the vaccines supplied to the states (150 crore) or administered by private hospitals adds up to about 86% of the 188 crore doses required to fully vaccinate the total adult population estimated to be about nearly 94 crore.

Only 69% of those above 60 years, the most vulnerable population, has been fully vaccinated. Almost 73% of those in the 45 to 59 age group have been fully vaccinated, while a little over 55% of the 18-44 age group has received both shots. Among health workers, who constituted the first priority group to get the vaccines, 97 lakh have been fully vaccinated, while just over 1 crore have received one dose. Among frontline workers, 1. 8 crore have received the first dose and about 1. 7 crore have been fully vaccinated.

Barring Bihar, Punjab and Jharkhand, all states have administered the first dose to well over 80% of the popula- tion over 18 years. Punjab, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh have not fully vaccinated even half the eligible population. In the South, Tamil Nadu continues to be the laggard state, where just 86% have got the first shot and only 58% have been fully vaccinated.

Serum Institute’s Covishield accounts for 128. 9 crore doses or about 89%, while Covaxin accounts for 15. 7 crore (11%), other vaccines having made a negligible contribution so far. The demand for vaccines is likely to shoot up with children to be vaccinated from January 3 and booster doses to be administered from January 10.