Covid vaccination: 15.5 lakh precaution doses administered on the first day of the special drive
In comparison, only about 5.5 lakh precaution doses were administered each day on average over the past seven days. Around 13.4 lakh total vaccine doses were administered on average each day over this period.
According to data from the government’s Cowin portal, over 15.5 lakh precautionary doses were administered across the country till late Friday evening, of which over 13 lakh were in the age group of 18 to 59 years. The centre’s program offering 75 days of free precautionary doses to all adults began on Friday to mark the 75th year of independence.
In comparison, on average, only about 5.5 lakh precautionary doses were administered every day in the last seven days. On average, a total of about 13.4 lakh vaccine doses were administered every day during this period.
The uptake of the third precautionary dose has been slow since it opened in January this year to healthcare workers, frontline workers and people over the age of 60 with co-morbidities. The highest peak of precautionary dose administration was observed during the second week of January when over 37 lakh precautionary doses were administered in seven days.
After dropping just over 1.2 million precautionary doses a week in May, the numbers started rising again the following month when the government launched the Har Ghar Dastak campaign, focusing specifically on the precautionary dose in the elderly and the second dose in children. , According to Cowin data, the number rose to 3.3 million in the second week of July.
Significantly, there was a slight increase in the number of precautionary doses given in Delhi too, where the state government made the precautionary dose free for all adults two weeks after the government launched the campaign. The centre opened a precautionary dosing campaign for all adults in April, but shots were only available on payment for people aged 18 to 59 at private centres. Over 22,000 precautionary doses were given in Delhi on Friday as against 19,000 doses being given every day on average during the last seven days.
“As part of the #AzadiKaAmritMahotsav celebrations, a free COVID-19 precaution dosing campaign has begun for all adults for the next 75 days. I urge all eligible people to get their precautionary dose. PM @NarendraModi Ji’s government is committed to building a healthy and secure India,” Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted on Friday.
So far, India has given 199.4 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines, of which only 5.26 crore are preventive doses. Of these, only 78.1 lakh were in the age group of 18 to 59 years. This is much less than the 4.48 crore doses given to the elderly.
