India’s vaccination drive has been open to adults of all ages for 40 days, and there are several variations in coverage across the country’s states. While Himachal Pradesh leads the way in terms of administering vaccines to the greatest number of adults (38 percent), states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Tamil Nadu have failed to reach even 15% of those who are eligible for vaccination.
With 17.3 percent of residents aged 18 to 45 receiving a shot, Delhi leads the way, while Chhattisgarh is at the bottom of the list, with only 3.7 percent of those aged 18 to 45 receiving a shot.
Tamil Nadu is not only one of the states that has covered less than 15% of its eligible population, but it also has the worst coverage of any of the 23 regions for which population projections for 2021 are available from the National Commission on Population (20.4 percent). Given the state’s high social development indicators and relatively good public health infrastructure, the numbers could indicate widespread vaccine apprehension.
According to data posted on the Co-WIN dashboard, India administered 191.9 million first doses of Covid-19 vaccines across various age groups until 5 p.m. on Wednesday. 50.5 million doses were given to people aged 18 to 45, 79.2 million to those aged 45 to 60, and 62.2 million to those aged over 60.
Despite the fact that the 18-45 age group accounts for 63 percent of all adults in India, only 8.5 percent of this group has been covered, while 38.2 percent of the 45-60 age group (22 percent of the eligible population) and 45.1 percent of the 60 and older age group (14.7 percent of the eligible population) have received at least one dose.
So, how are states doing in terms of vaccination the elderly and children?
States that have only vaccinated a small percentage of their eligible population are, predictably, falling behind in vaccinating both the young and the old. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Punjab are the states in question. The first doses were given to less than 20% of adults in these six states, with coverage ranging from 27% to 36% in the 45+ age group and 5.1 percent to 7.6% in the 18-45 age group.
Despite being one of the states with less than 20% adult vaccination coverage, Tamil Nadu managed to vaccinate a higher percentage of the 18-45 age group (9.1%) than the other six states.
The vaccination of people aged 45 and up appears to be a good barometer for overall coverage because it correlates with the proportion of the overall eligible population who receives the first dose. Although their exact ranks may vary slightly, the top 11 of the 23 regions for which population projections are available are also the top 11 regions in terms of coverage of the 45+ age group. Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, for example, are 7th and 10th in terms of overall eligible population coverage, but 3rd and 4th in terms of 45+ population coverage.
