Free Covid-19 vaccination campaign lifted booster dose coverage: Govt

With six states reporting more than 1,000 average daily Covid-19 cases, the Centre is now trying targeted communication in them to improve vaccination coverage rapidly. There has already been a sharp rise in demand for precaution doses after July 15 when the Centre announced free precaution shots for all adults.

From a daily average of 4.7 lakh doses per day till July 15, the number of precaution shots went up to 20.4 lakh per day (from July 15 till date). The number of total vaccine doses has gone up from 12.3 lakh per day (till July 15) to 27 lakh per day (since July 15).

According to the health ministry, the coverage for precaution doses has gone up from 8 per cent (July 14) to 11 per cent (as of July 25) thanks to the “Amrit Mahotsav” campaign.

The ministry on Tuesday said that Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha and Karnataka are reporting more than 1,000 average daily cases. Kerala contributes 11.38 per cent of the national Covid-19 cases, while Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu contribute 10.6 per cent and 10.3 per cent respectively.

Lav Agarwal, joint secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said the Centre was keen on ensuring vaccination coverage, especially of precaution doses, picked up in areas where the rate of infection is high. “We have started targeted messaging to the districts and states where the caseload is high. This would help to increase our coverage for vaccines,” he said.

As of July 25, 181 districts in India are reporting a weekly positivity rate of more than 10 per cent, and 107 districts are recording 5-10 per cent weekly positivity rate. Assam, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh have the highest number of districts with more than 10 per cent positivity rates.

The Centre has launched a 75-day free precaution dose campaign for all adults till the September-end. Agarwal said there was a certain amount of complacency among citizens about Covid-19 infection, and that they have let their guards down.

India has already covered 96 per cent of its population above 12 years with the first dose. For the second dose, the coverage is 88 per cent. However, the ministry noted that only 75.8 million precaution shots have been administered. The coverage is around 68 per cent for the second dose among the 15-18 year age cohort.