Minority-dominated areas score in Covid-19 vaccination in 17 of 27 states

Since the central government ann­ou­n­ced “free for all” vaccines, the pace of vaccination has picked up. In May, India was administering 2 million doses daily; and by September it was re­c­o­rding 7.9 million daily average doses. The free-for-all vaccination has helped bridge the social divide. A Business Standard analysis shows that in 17 of the 27 states for which data is available, districts with a larger share of Muslim population have fully vaccinated more people than those where the minority population is lower than average. For simplicity, the analysis excludes union territories (except Delhi) and six territories where 100 per cent of the population has received the first dose.

Ten states, however, still show a low vaccination trend for districts where the minority population is more than the average. In these areas, districts with less minority population have performed better. The analysis uses Census 2011 data to calculate the average minority population across each district. Karnataka, Kerala, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Mahara­shtra and West Bengal are some states where districts with more-than-average Muslim population have a lower number of fully vaccinated people. In most of these states, districts with a more-than-average Christian population have a higher proportion of fully vaccinated population.

Though the reasons for this are not known, education could be one. Cen­sus 2011 data shows the Christian population to be more educated than the Muslim. In Gujarat, however, Muslim-dominated districts performed better than those dominated by Christians.

When it came to the first dose, 19 states administered more doses in districts where the Muslim population is higher than average. Analysis also shows that 17 states scored higher in administering the first dose in districts with a higher-than-average Christian population. For instance, when resp­e­ct to the first dose, both Muslim- and Christian-dominated districts in Kera­la performed better than areas where the population of minorities was lower than average. Maharashtra and Karna­taka seem to have corrected this social divide as well. Gujarat, Jharkhand, Assam and Bihar still remain among the few states where areas with more-than-average minority population are less vaccinated than areas with less-than-average minority population.

So, is there a strong correlation bet­ween religion and vaccination? Most states do not exhibit this trend, but the analysis shows a clear pattern for some. Haryana, for instance, shows a positive correlation between the proportion of Christians in the population and fully vaccinated people — higher the number of Christians, higher the number of fully vaccinated people. In Gujarat, the converse is true. Karna­t­aka, Kerala, UP and Maha­rashtra exh­ibit a positive correlation concerning the Christian population. For the Mus­lim population, Kerala and Jhark­hand show a negative correlation for fully vaccinated, while MP, Tamil Nadu and Telangana show a positive correlation.