In a worrying trend, India administered less than 20 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccine for the sixth consecutive day on Wednesday as vaccination centres across the country halted the nationwide drive owing to a shortage of the life-saving tool amid the pandemic.
On Thursday, by 4 pm, about 11 lakh doses have been given, according to numbers on the Co-WIN portal.
The daily inoculation has already hit a new low this week -- about 15 lakh doses on Monday and as low as 13 lakh on Tuesday. The persistent drag in vaccinations is detrimental to the fight against the Covid-19, a second wave of which has left the country devastated.
According to Co-WIN data, on Wednesday, nearly 92 of the 754 districts had no doses to administer. States across the country struggled to continue the drive, but in some regions, the situation appeared particularly worrisome. For instance, in Gujarat, only 5 of the 41 districts continued vaccination. And the number stood at 3 for Telangana, a state with 33 districts.
According to one estimate, nearly 15 states in the country had at least one district which did not have any dose to administer.
Experts believe vaccination is a key step in protecting people against the onslaught of more Covid-19 waves. As the virus mutates, it puts a large part of the population at risk. Another wave, experts say, would target more vulnerable sections like children.
Just for the adult population, the strength of 94 crore, nearly 190 crore of doses have to be administered and so far the number stands at around 18.76 crore doses, leaving India in a long battle against the virus that has killed nearly 3 lakh people.
In other parts of the world, the United States has administered 27 crore doses, fully vaccinating about 38 per cent of the population, according to the John Hopkins University tracker.
The UK has lifted all lockdown restrictions, opening the country after more than a year of curbs. China says it is administering as many as 1.4 crore doses a day, leading the vaccine race for now.