New Delhi: On June 21, India vaccinated nearly 80 lakh individuals, launching a new phase of the immunization campaign in which the Center distributes free vaccines to states and union territories based on population, COVID-19 status and other criteria.
With the end of the week, India has broken all previous weekly vaccination records, distributing around 3.3 crore doses from June 21 to June 26, according to data released by the Union Health Ministry. The previous high was 2.47 million shots, which were delivered in a week between April 3 and April 9.
On Friday, Maharashtra became the primary state to manage over 3 crore COVID-19 vaccines to the public. Apart from this, states like Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat distributed between two crore to three crore doses.
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Several states also celebrated International Day of Yoga, which also marked the beginning of the free vaccination phase, and organized massive vaccination camps to vaccinate people, resulting in a record high of over 8 million people in the country. Vaccination took place.
Many health and government professionals questioned the campaign, claiming it is unlikely to maintain the current trajectory in the future. But despite the daily vaccination rate coming down from 80 lakhs to around 60 lakhs, a new record has been set for the highest weekly vaccination rate.
The government had mentioned earlier that the number of vaccinations will increase significantly, as both Bharat Biotech and SII are ramping up their vaccine manufacturing in preparation for a larger production in the months of July and August. Private hospitals will also start procuring vaccines from vaccine manufacturers from their 25% quota.
According to experts, vaccine hesitancy in remote areas, as well as any shortfall in supplies, could hinder the government’s efforts to meet its target of vaccinating all its residents by December 2021.
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