Odisha Misses Its Own Vaccination Goalposts By Yards, State Not In Top-20 List

In the vaccination race, Odisha has missed its own goalposts time and again. The slipping out looks quite significant in the backdrop of the raging third wave in the State.

While the State has targeted to cover 90 percent of its eligible population with at least one dose of vaccines by November 2021, the shocker is State has failed to make it into the top-20 states that have a higher coverage of dose-1 and 2 than the national average.

As per the data available with Union Health Ministry, Odisha's southern neighbour Andhra Pradesh has achieved 100 percent dose-1 coverage in the eligible 18+ population as against the national average of 92 percent. The dose -2 coverage is 81 percent against the national average of 68 percent

Top-12 Achievers

Here are the top-20 states that have achieved dose-1 coverage higher than the national average.

The 100 Percent Club

• Chandigarh
• Lakshadweep
• Goa
• Dadra And Nagar Haveli
• Himachal Pradesh
• A and Nicobar Island
• Delhi
• Jammu & Kashmir
• Sikkim
• Telangana
• Haryana
• Andhra Pradesh

A look at the honour list reveals that all the states have a population lower than Odisha. But neighbour Andhra Pradesh stands out. The AP population in 2021 is predicted at 5.27 crore vis-a-vis 4.55 crore in Odisha.

Andhra Pradesh Vs Odisha

This shows the rate of vaccination (in both doses) in AP is faster than Odisha. Significantly, when the daily caseload of AP on Jan 14 was 4,528; the daily count in Odisha had been a high of 10,856. Moreover, as against 61,809 active cases in Odisha, AP has only 18,313.

In comparison to 4 districts - Vishakapatnam, Nellore, Chittoor and Guntur - in Andhra Pradesh having a weekly positivity rate of over 10 percent, the tally in Odisha stands at 9.

The Frontrunners

As per the Union Health Ministry data, as many as eight other states have a dose-1 coverage more than the national average. The pride list is given below (as of Jan 12, 2022).

• Kerala - 99 percent
• Karnataka - 99 percent
• Uttarakhand - 99 percent
• Gujarat - 98 percent
• Ladakh - 97 percent
• Madhya Pradesh - 96 percent
• Assam -- 93 percent
• Rajasthan - 93 percent

Odisha is nowhere on the list. From Rajasthan to Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, all have a higher population than Odisha.

The Solace

Though Odisha failed to enlist itself among the top-20 states in the indicator of the fully immunised population in the age group of 18-plus in the country, the State secured 22nd place among the 23 states that have achieved a higher rate of full inoculation than the national average.

The Performers Club

• Lakshadweep - 100 percent
• A & N Islands - 100 percent
• J & K - 100 percent
• Himachal Pradesh -99.3 percent
• Goa - 97 percent
• Chandigarh - 94 percent
• Sikkim - 94 percent
• Madhya Pradesh - 92 percent
• Gujarat - 89 percent
• Uttarakhand - 82 percent
•  Karnataka -   82 percent
• Kerala  -  82 percent
• Andhra Pradesh - 81 percent

Odisha has achieved fully immunisation rate of only 69 percent in the 18-plus population category in the State. Rajasthan and Assam are ahead with a proportion of 71 and 70 percent, respectively. The national average stands at 68 percent, (as of Jan12, 2021)