Himachal leads vaccine drive with 31% coverage

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 15

Having vaccinated 16.99 lakh of the total 55.23 lakh eligible persons, Himachal has topped the country in the vaccination drive. Around 31 per cent of the eligible population above 45 years of age has been vaccinated in the state. Chhattisgarh has been ranked second; it has covered 24 per cent of the eligible population.

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So far, 21.22 lakh eligible people in the 45 years and above age group have been vaccinated. While 16,97,128 persons have received the first dose, 425,766 persons have got both doses of the vaccine.

Punjab has achieved half of the progress done in Himachal by vaccinating merely 15 per cent of the eligible population, while Haryana has performed relatively better with a percentage of 19. Uttarakhand and Jammu Kashmir with a percentage of 24 have done well.

“Himachal has been ranked at number one nationwide, as per the report of the Technical Group on Population Projections released by the Census of India in November 2019,” said Nipun Jindal, Project Director, National Health Mission (NHM). He added that as per the Census, 55.23 lakh people in the state are eligible for inoculation.

The vaccination drive for the 18 to 44 years age group will start on May 17 and 1.07 lakh doses have been received for the purpose.

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