Covid Vaccination Drive: Centre Plans To Vaccinate All Adults With First Dose By October

Currently, about 52 per cent of the 94 crore adult population has received at least one dose. However, so far only 15 per cent of the adult population has received the second dose.

Covid vaccination drive in India (File Photo)

New Delhi: The vaccination program is being run in the country to eliminate the deadly coronavirus. The government has made a new plan to speed up vaccination and give at least the first dose of the vaccine to as many adults as possible by September and October.

With the increasing pace of vaccination and better supplies, the government is hoping that some states will cover a significant proportion of the adult population with a single dose by October. However, the government has expressed apprehensions that vaccination coverage may take longer in states like UP and Tamil Nadu.

So far, the contribution of the Covishield vaccine in the total vaccination is about 87 percent. The second dose of this vaccine is given after an interval of at least 84 days or 12 weeks. The vaccination rate was 57 lakh per day in August, which is expected to increase now.

64 crore vaccines administered in the country so far

Currently, about 52 per cent of the 94 crore adult population has received at least one dose. However, so far only 15 per cent of the adult population has received the second dose.

Some states like Kerala and Madhya Pradesh have already given the first dose to a significant proportion of the adult population. So far 64 crore vaccines have been administered in the country.  However, officials say the whole picture of vaccination will change once a significant portion of the adult population receives the first dose.

Currently, about 70 per cent of vaccinations given are the first doses. October onwards, once the majority of the eligible population has received the first shot, the proportion of the second dose is expected to accelerate.

Vaccine supply in states intensified

The Health Ministry has said that the central government is committed to increasing the pace of covid-19 vaccination across the country. The ministry said that the pace of vaccination has been accelerated through the availability of more vaccines with better vaccine supply to the states. Under the nationwide vaccination campaign, the central government is providing free vaccines to the states.