India started this week by registering the lowest daily rise in coronavirus cases in seven months even as it finished administering the fi...
India started this week by registering the lowest daily rise in coronavirus cases in seven months even as it finished administering the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccines to 4.5 lakh healthcare and frontline workers.
“The fall in the number of daily new cases is accompanied by a fast-rising number of people getting vaccinated against Covid-19 across all states and Union Territories,” the Centre announced in a jubilant press release. “The total number of people vaccinated is more than double the number of active cases.”
The number has since increased to 6,31,417 as of Tuesday evening.
But beyond these big-picture numbers, India’s Covid-19 immunisation drive has so far been bumpy, marred by vaccine hesitancy and technical glitches. As is expected in a country of its size, there is great disparity in coverage among India’s states.
Under-performers and overachievers
On Monday, for instance, Odisha not only achieved its target of vaccinating 31,902 people, it went beyond – vaccinating over 32,500 people. “We managed this because all the key opinion makers, influential doctors and social celebrities have over the last two months motivated people to take vaccines,” said Jayant Panda, a physician who is the technical adviser to the state government on Covid-19.
Punjab, on the other hand, struggled to vaccinate even 35%...
