Bhubaneswar: Even as Odisha has administered a total of over 22 lakh Covid-19 doses to date, the fully vaccinated population to date in the State stood at a mere 0.84per cent. The State has been ranked at number 8th in the country.
As per the data available with the Union Health Ministry, the number of the fully vaccinated populace in the country stood at 89 million (8.91 crore). Among the major states, including Himachal Pradesh, Tripura topped the chart by vaccinating nearly 2 per cent (1.8%) of its population to date.
A SNAPSHOT OF BOOSTER SHOTS
To date, a total of over 8.9 crore in the country have taken the booster shot (the second dose) to be counted as fully immune to Covid-19 for at least 8-months. In percentage terms, data shows around 0.65 per cent of the population in the country has so far stood fully vaccinated against coronavirus.
Though in absolute numbers larger states lead the tally in the number of people fully vaccinated, in the indices of percentage population fully vaccinated, Tripura leads the table and is followed by national capital Delhi (1.2%). The other states in the top-5 are Himachal Pradesh (1.05%), Kerala (1.05%), Uttarakhand and Goa (1.01 per cent each) and Gujarat (0.99%).
Odisha with 0.84 per cent population fully vaccinated to date finished 8th in the country.
SHOOT UP IN CASES VS THE SHOT
The five states - Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu- that have emerged as the country's second wave hot spots, post an abysmal rate of the fully vaccinated populace in the country.
While Chhattisgarh with a mere 0.1 per cent of its population fully vaccinated finished last among the major states, excluding J&K, the fully vaccinated population in Punjab and Tamil Nadu stood at 0.33 per cent, Maharashtra at 0.58 per cent.
ODISHA NEEDS A JUMP SHOT?
Odisha needs to play a jump shot to immunise the vulnerable population at the earliest.
SAMPLE THIS: After the Centre decided to universally vaccinate people of 45 years of age and above, the target for the State to vaccinate stood at a massive 1.16 crore people or 25 per cent of the total population.
As of date, the State has given the double shot to only 3.91 lakh or only 3.4 per cent of the target population of 45-years and above.
Odisha is currently administering the second dose at the rate of a mere 9,114 per day against the national average of 2.07 lakh per day.
HOW MANY DAYS ODISHA WILL TAKE TO COVER TARGET GROUP?
As per the data available, if Odisha will administer the 2nd dose at the current rate of around 10k/day, then the State will take around 1,121 days or over 3-years to fully vaccinate the 1.16 crore target or vulnerable population.
Even, if the first dose is taken into consideration, the rate of delivering the first dose in the State since January 16 stood at around 25,000 per day. In contrast, the national average is 7 lakh per day.
At the current pace, Odisha will take over 390 days to administer the first dose to the entire target group of 45 years and above.
WHO HAS THE UPSHOT GLOBALLY?
As per the data available with the apex global health body WHO, Israel is the only country in the world that is fast nearing towards achieving herd immunity against Covid-19. To date, the tiny country has inoculated almost half of its population (52 per cent). UAE follows with a proportion of over 22 per cent.
Among the 25 countries where vaccination against coronavirus have started, India remains at the 23rd position. India is ahead of the People Republic of China and Bangladesh. Significantly, China is yet to share its data regarding Covid-19 vaccination.