1 crore doses a day

THE mission to vaccinate India’s nearly 90 crore adult population against Covid-19 before the year ends requires the administration of one crore jabs daily until December 31. The ambitious inoculation drive saw two milestones being reached on consecutive days last week. Thursday saw the country crossing 50 per cent first dose vaccine coverage of those above 18 — 35.9 per cent partially vaccinated and 15.1 per cent having received both doses. On Friday, a record crore-plus vaccine doses were administered, the highest single day tally achieved since the rollout of the coronavirus immunisation drive on January 16. Loftier targets have been set after the feat, a moment of pride for the health system. The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation in India hopes to vaccinate 1.25 crore in a single day soon.

The first 10 crore doses in the country were administered in 85 days, the next 10 crore in 45. The march from 50 crore to 60 crore took 19 days. A creditable progress, but it still may not be good enough as studies predict a third wave and a surge in cases in October. Sustaining the momentum of the focused push to the vaccination programme, thus, needs to remain high priority. The responsibility is as much of the states as that of the Centre.

The increase in vaccine availability has resulted in August emerging as India’s biggest vaccination month, with Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra leading the way. In Himachal Pradesh, over 99 per cent of the eligible 18-plus population has been vaccinated at least once. The state has set itself a target of complete vaccination by November 30. Over 62 crore doses of the anti-coronavirus vaccines have been administered so far countrywide, the second highest after China, but a staggering number of the eligible population has still not been covered. That’s the challenge.