Young, unvaccinated: India's vaccination drive stumbles

India began the Covid inoculation drive for its 130 crore people in earnest in mid-January

India began the Covid-19 inoculation drive for its 130 crore people in earnest in mid-January.

Healthcare, frontline workers and the elderly were the first eligible, followed by people aged over 45 in April and then adults aged 18-45 in May.

That last extension, covering around 43% of the population, proved to be a crunch point.

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Following a surge in Covid-19 infections across the country in April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accelerated plans to broaden the programme and opened up vaccinations from May 1 for people aged between 18 and 45 years.

The decision led to a rush by people in that age group, who account for 60 crore of the population, to sign up on the government’s Co-WIN vaccination website. Critically, there was no corresponding increase in vaccine supplies.

By June 4, India had provided at least one dose to roughly 5 crore people aged between 18 and 44, representing just 8% of that population group.

Adding to the difficulties, a privilege gap emerged in the vaccination roll-out, with hospitals charging different prices for the same vaccine. Some hospitals in affluent areas have sold the Covishield shot, manufactured in India, for Rs 1,800 a dose, almost double the Rs 950 elsewhere.

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Also, urban Indians have received shots faster than those living in villages. That means vaccines remain unavailable to a large part of the population that cannot afford it or has little or no access to private hospitals.

Vaccine importer

India - the world's biggest producer of vaccines for polio, diphtheria and other diseases - sold or donated more than 660 lakh Covid-19 vaccine shots to 95 countries until the middle of April.

But as infections started rising from around mid-March in the country, the clamour for vaccines at home also increased. India has now started importing vaccines and also expecting donations from the United States.

The Centre expects vaccine supplies to improve substantially from June. It is expecting to produce enough shots by December to inoculate all of its estimated 95 crore adults, though those between 18 and 45 years will be the last on the priority list.

Several states in India have begun to gradually lift restrictions on travel and businesses, after a fall in cases in recent weeks. However, health experts have warned that cases could surge again once most states reopen, and have called for vaccinations to be sped up.

As of June 8, less than 4% of India’s adult population had been given the required two vaccine doses. Nearly 14% received at least one dose and, of that group, less than one-tenth of 18-45 year olds have been inoculated.