News Analysis India

Tag: Covid vaccination

  • 1.92 crore unutilised Covid vaccines available with states/UT, private hospitals: Govt

    Under the nationwide vaccination drive, the Government of India has been supporting the states/UTs by providing them with the vaccines.

  • Gurugram, Faridabad top jab chart in Haryana

    Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH:  More than one crore people have been vaccinated against the coronavirus in Haryana till Tuesday, of which 43.14 lakh beneficiaries are in the seven districts bordering Delhi. The highest number of beneficiaries are Gurugram (15.89 lakh), followed by Faridabad (9.91 lakh).

    As per the bulletin issued by the Haryana health department on Tuesday late evening, a total of 1,00,56,163 people have been vaccinated till Tuesday.  Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said that more than 4.14 lakh healthcare workers have been vaccinated in the state while more than 3.79 lakh front line workers have also received the jab.

    Similarly, more than 26.68 lakh people above 60 years, more than 27 lakh people between 45 years and 60 years and more than 38.91 lakh people between 18 to 44 years have been vaccinated.  Thus, 1,00,56,163 beneficiaries have been vaccinated so far.

    In response to a query regarding the possible third wave, the minister said that if a possible next wave comes, the state has made complete preparations for it and monitoring committees at the state level as well as district levels have been constituted. Instructions have also been given to constitute monitoring committees, which will include senior officials as well as representatives from the Indian Medical Association (IMA).

    Vij said that during the second wave there were issues regarding availability of oxygen. In view of this, the state has issued instructions to set up oxygen plants in all civil hospitals of the state and private hospitals with a capacity of more than 50 beds. Apart from this, instructions have also been given to provide piped oxygen to every bed in all civil hospitals of the state.  Similarly, instructions have also been given for augmentation of manpower such as filling up of posts like doctors, nurses etc. so that the possible wave of coronavirus can be dealt with efficiently.

    backward district at bottom of graphBesides Gurugram and Faridabad disitricts, 5,64,822 people have been vaccinated in Sonepat, 3,65,741 in Rewari,  3,54,261 in Jhajjar, 3,26,451 in Palwal. The least number of people were vaccinated in Nuh (1,25,593),  the most backward district in the state. Health Minister Anil Vij said that till date more than one crore people have been administered the jab. A total of 4.14 lakh healthcare workers have also been vaccinated

  • Chidambaram slams Centre’s vaccination drive, points to shortfall in Odisha, TN

    By Express News Service
    BHUBANESWAR: Former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram has mocked the Centre and Odisha for Covid vaccine shortage in the state.

    As the vaccination in the State has been disrupted due to inadequate supply, in a series of tweets, the veteran Congress leader stated that 24 out of 30 districts in Odisha have run out of vaccines.

    “Odisha has reported that 24 out of 30 districts have run out of vaccines. Once again, vaccination has been suspended at several centres in Tamil Nadu because they have run out of vaccines. What has the Central government that dismissed complaints of vaccine shortage got to say now?” he asked.

    Terming that Odisha is governed by the BJD, an “ally” of the BJP, Chidambaram wrote that the first task of the new Health Minister Mansukh Mandviya will be to ensure adequate and uninterrupted supply of vaccines to all States.

    Vaccine shortage is a FACT. Vaccine production is EXAGGERATED. Vaccine import is a MYSTERY. Vaccinating the entire adult population by December 2021 is an empty BOASTWill the new Health Minister @mansukhmandviya tell the nation the truth about the vaccination programme?
    — P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) July 13, 2021

    “Vaccine shortage is a FACT. Vaccine production is EXAGGERATED. Vaccine import is a MYSTERY. Vaccinating the entire adult population by December 2021 is an empty BOAST,” he tweeted.

    Even as the BJD claims to have been maintaining equidistance from both the national parties ever since it parted ways with BJP in 2009, the Congress continues to accuse the two parties of having an ‘unholy alliance’ owing to the bonhomie they share on different occasions.

    Health department sources said the inoculation drive in the State has been affected in almost all districts barring Ganjam and Bhubaneswar due to a shortage of Covishield vaccine. The inoculation has also dropped from a level of four lakh doses on July 5 to 50,000 now.

    ALSO READ | Patients suffer as Odisha government fails its post-Covid clinic promise

    While the vaccination was stopped in 24 districts on Monday, it was halted in 15 districts on Tuesday. Only 97 sessions have been planned in 15 districts and there is no vaccination in Angul, Balasore, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Gajapati, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Kendrapara, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nayagarh, Nuapada, and Sambalpur.

    The State government has flagged the vaccine shortage several times and requested the Union Health Ministry to supply at least 15 lakh more doses of Covishield this month over and above the proposed allocation of 25.31 lakh doses.

    “Around 28.31 lakh beneficiaries are due for a second dose in July. Districts have been asked to prioritise the second dose. The vaccination target can be achieved only if the supply is streamlined. We hope to get more doses in the coming days,” said Additional Chief Secretary of Health PK Mohapatra.

    The inoculation is expected to gain momentum from Wednesday as Odisha has received 3,16,470 doses of Covishield on Monday. It has a stock of 3,49,930 doses of Covishield and 3,09,530 doses of Covaxin. The State has administered 1,35,49,900 doses. As many as 1,08,09,466 people have got a single dose and 27,40,434 have been fully vaccinated.

  • ‘Shortage is a fact’: P Chidambaram slams India’s COVID-19 vaccination programme 

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday hit out at the government’s COVID-19 vaccination programme, terming its promise of vaccinating all adults by December end as an “empty boast”.

    He said the states of Odisha and Delhi are facing vaccine shortage and asked the Union health minister to spell out his plans to ensure regular and uninterrupted supply of vaccines to states.

    “Vaccine shortage is a fact. Vaccine production is exaggerated. Vaccine import is a mystery. Vaccinating the entire adult population by December 2021 is an empty boast,” he said.

    “Will the new Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tell the nation the truth about the vaccination programme,” he asked.

    In a series of tweets, he said after Odisha, Delhi has run out of vaccines.

    “Will the new Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya please tell us how he plans to ensure regular, adequate and uninterrupted supply of vaccines to the States,” he said.

    The former union minister said Odisha has reported that 24 out of 30 districts have run out of vaccines.

    “Odisha is governed by the BJD, an ally of the BJP. What has the central government that dismissed complaints of vaccine shortage got to say now,” Chidambaram asked.

  • Dip in average daily vaccination against COVID-19 since June 21: Government data

    Among states, however, a mixed trend has emerged with some states and UTs reporting a sinusoidal trend of vaccination while others a dip.

  • COVID-19: 724 deaths take toll to 4,08,764 as India records 37,154 new cases 

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: With 37,154 new coronavirus infections, India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,08,74,376, while the total recoveries crossed three crore, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

    The death toll climbed to 4,08,764 with 724 fresh fatalities.

    The active cases have declined to 4,50,899 and comprise 1.46 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 97.22 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed. A decrease of 3,219 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    As many as 14,32,343 tests were conducted on Sunday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 43,23,17,813, while the daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.59 per cent.

    It has been less than three per cent for 21 consecutive days, the ministry said.

    The weekly positivity rate stands at 2.32 per cent, it said.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,00,14,713 and the case fatality rate stands at 1.32 per cent, the data stated. Cumulative vaccine doses administered so far has reached 37.73 crore under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

    It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

  • Union govt says India’s COVID-19 vaccine coverage exceeds 36.89 crore

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India’s cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 36.89 crore, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday.

    Cumulatively, more than 11.18 crore doses have been administered in the age group of 18-44 years, it said.

    The ministry said over 40 lakh vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours.

    On Day-174 of the vaccination drive (July 8), out of the total 40,23,173 vaccine doses that were given, 27,01,200 beneficiaries were vaccinated for the first dose and 13,21,973 beneficiaries received the second dose of vaccine.

    As many as 20,31,634 vaccine doses were administered as first dose and 1,79,901 vaccine doses given as second dose in the age group 18-44 years on Thursday.

    Cumulatively, 10,84,53,590 persons in the age group 18-44 years across all states and UTs have received their first dose and total 33,79,213 have received their second.

    Eight states– Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra — have administered more than 50 lakh first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the age group of 18-44 years.

    The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, the ministry said.

  • COVID-19: India records 43,393 new cases, 911 fresh fatalities take death toll to 4,05,939

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India logged 43,393 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,07,52,950, while the active cases have declined to 4,58,727, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

    The death toll has climbed to 4,05,939 with 911 fresh fatalities.

    The active cases comprise 1.49 per cent of the total infections and the national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.19 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.

    A decrease of 1,977 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    As many as 17,90,708 tests were conducted on Thursday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 42,70,16,605, while the daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.42 per cent.

    It has been less than three per cent for 18 consecutive days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate has declined to 2.36 per cent, according to the health ministry.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,98,88,284, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.32 per cent, the data stated.

    Cumulative vaccine doses administered so far has reached 36.89 crore under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

    It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

  • ‘Will supply 12 crore vaccines this month’: Centre asks states to achieve high vaccination rate

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Clarifying on the major fall in daily Covid vaccination over the past week, the Centre on Wednesday urged the states to pronounce their specific needs to achieve a high vaccination rate.

    The Centre also said that it will supply states with over 12 crore vaccine doses this month, nearly 2.2 crore of which have already reached states.  

    The daily Covid vaccination in the country has come down by 32% in the last week as compared to the week preceding it. On this, the Union Health Ministry said that it is informing states much in advance about the doses that will be available during the month including the supply to private hospitals.

    “The states have been advised to plan their Covid Vaccination sessions based on the availability of the Covid vaccines,” said the ministry in a statement.

    Based on the discussion with the manufacturers, the government had communicated to all states that they will receive more than 12 crore doses of the Covid vaccine in July and till Wednesday morning, over 2.19 crore doses have already been supplied from this month’s quota, it added.

    The states are also being informed adequately in advance of the supply of Covid vaccines being sent to them, the ministry also said, adding that all states have also been requested to share likely indicative demand in case more doses of vaccine are required by them in view of the increased coverage.

    The daily Covid vaccinations in India, so far, have remained rather erratic and the numbers, instead of showing upward trends, have been fluctuating.

    For instance, on June 21, when the Centre took over the 25% quota from states and started supplying 75% of the total vaccines to government hospitals, the daily vaccination crossed the 85 lakh mark but has come down since then.

    On Tuesday just about 42 lakh Covid19 vaccine doses were administered in the country while the experts have pointed out that the daily vaccinations should be 90 lakh if India has to vaccinate all its  94 crore adult population by the year-end.

  • India records lowest COVID-19 deaths in 88 days, active case tally at 4,82,071

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India saw a single-day rise of 39,796 new Covid infections, which took the tally of cases to 3,05,85,229, while the death toll climbed to 4,02,728 with 723 more fatalities, the lowest in around 88 days, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

    The active cases have further declined to 4,82,071 and comprise 1.58 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid recovery rate has improved to 97.

    11 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed It said that there has been a decline of 3,279 active cases in a span of 24 hours.

    The ministry said that 15,22,504 tests were conducted on Sunday, taking the total cumulative tests conducted for detection of Covd in the country to 41,97,77,457.

    The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.61 per cent. It has been less than five per cent for 28 consecutive days, it said.

    The weekly positivity rate has declined to 2.4 per cent, according to the health ministry.

    Recoveries continue to outnumber daily cases for 53 consecutive days, it said, adding that the number of people who have recuperated from the disease has risen to 2,97,00,430.

    The case fatality rate stands at 1.32 per cent, the data stated. The cumulative vaccine doses administered has reached 35.28 crore under the nationwide vaccination drive, the ministry said.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

    It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    India crossed 2 crore cases on May 4 and 3 crore on June 23.

    The 723 new fatalities include 306 from Maharashtra, 76 from Kerala and 72 from Tamil Nadu, the ministry said.

    It said that 4,02,728 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,23,030 from Maharashtra, 35,367 from Karnataka, 33,005 from Tamil Nadu, 24,995 from Delhi, 22,640 from Uttar Pradesh, 17,799 from West Bengal and 16,110 from Punjab.

    The health ministry said more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

    “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.