More than 10 crore people have not taken second dose of Covid-19 in India

Around  10.34 crore people across the country have not taken the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine after the prescribed interval between two doses, the Centre told the states on Wednesday.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is learnt to have flagged the issue at a review meeting with state health ministers, and asked them to accelerate the second dose coverage. Sources present at the meeting said the Centre said that among the 10.34 crore, 85 per cent had taken Covishield while the remaining had taken Covaxin.

Mandaviya asked the states to “aim to cover all eligible with first dose of Covid-19 vaccine by November-end”.

“Adequate vaccine doses are available in the country… more than 12 crore unulitised doses are available with the states for administering. No district should be without full vaccination,” he said.

Mandaviya asked the states to make regional and local level plans with all stakeholders to reduce the number of people with overdue vaccination. According to sources, Bihar told the Centre that it has started 279 mobile vans for vaccination in villages.

“Similarly, Jharkhand said it is utilising sahiyas or asha workers for door-to-door vaccination. Gujarat said it is using Panchayati Raj and revenue workers to mobilise people for the second dose of vaccination,” sources said.

On Wednesday, India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage crossed 103.99 crore doses. According to official data, 77 per cent of the estimated adult population has received their first dose and 34 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Among the large states, Gujarat (53%), Karnataka (46%), Rajasthan (38%) and Madhya Pradesh (35%) have reported second dose vaccination coverage above the national average. However, Maharashtra (33%), Uttar Pradesh (18%), Bihar (21%) and West Bengal (26%) are below the national average.

The gap between the first and second dose is 12 weeks for Covishield and four weeks for Covaxin.