Key states' vaccination numbers dipped before and after Monday surge

MP showed a decline on four of seven days leading up to the record, ranging from 50-98%; UP showed only marginal declines on two days; Karnataka had double-digit declines on five days

Two of the three top contributors to Monday’s record vaccinations also saw double-digit declines in jabs on multiple days before the surge. Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh accounted for over 40 per cent of Monday’s record-setting 8.7 million vaccinations. The top state Madhya Pradesh also recorded over one million vaccinations on Wednesday as per provisional evening numbers, accounting for 17.6 per cent of the 5.97 million doses given nationally.

Madhya Pradesh showed a decline on four out of seven days leading up to the record, ranging from 50 per cent to 98 per cent. The fall worsened closer to the record-day (see chart). Uttar Pradesh showed only marginal declines on two days. Karnataka showed a lower than average vaccination rate for five out of the seven days under consideration. All five were double-digit declines.

Business Standard looked at vaccinations given during the seven days leading up to Monday. The daily doses for each day were compared to the average number of doses given on the same day during the preceding two weeks across the three states. The national numbers largely do not show the declines seen in certain states leading up to Monday’s record.

Madhya Pradesh officials said that vaccination numbers are low on Tuesdays and Fridays since the state administers vaccinations only four days a week. On Sundays too the vaccinations are not done in government centres as health workers take a break. The state’s vaccination numbers rose to 1.7 million on Monday.

“Our biggest problem was vaccine hesitancy. Almost 70 per cent doses from rural areas would come back unconsumed. So we focused all our energies in addressing that on 21st June,” said M. Suleman, additional chief secretary of state’s health department.

The state mobilised all its Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs), religious leaders and over 100,000 volunteers across 14,000 vaccination sites to make people aware that vaccination is safe and useful, the official said. “We had put one person as “prerak” in each centre. One day's record does not matter to us. It is a six-month job,” Suleman added. He also said that all this preparation was also the reason why the vaccination numbers had slowed down during the weekend before the big launch. Madhya Pradesh wants to vaccinate all its eligible population with at least one dose by the end of September and give both doses by December.

Health ministry data shows that more than 70 per cent of vaccination centres are located in rural areas including more than 26,000 at the Primary Health Centres and 26,000 at the sub-health centres. Around 80 per cent of all vaccine doses have so far been administered in an on-site vaccination mode. The new vaccine policy allows walk-in registration for all categories to address issues related to internet access and availability.

Health ministry also said that special provisions have been made for organising vaccination sessions for those who may not have any of the nine specified identity cards or own a mobile phone. More than 200,000 such beneficiaries have been vaccinated.

National vaccination numbers dipped 32.7 per cent to 5.9 million doses on the day after the record. Final state numbers are often available with a lag. Tuesday numbers as available on the next day showed Uttar Pradesh vaccinations were up 18.3 per cent. Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka vaccinations both fell more than 50 per cent from Monday’s numbers.