The vaccination rate in Maharashtra has dropped by a sharp 30% in the first ten days of August after a bumper inoculation drive in July.
Compared to nearly 40 lakh doses administered in the first ten and the last ten days of July, the state administered less than 28 lakh doses in the first ten days of August, reported The Times of India.
The lower vaccination rate is due to a ‘limited supply of vaccines’, said Additional chief secretary Dr Pradeep Vyas. So far, the state has received 8.26 crore doses in August and the shortage has severely impacted the drive in the state’s capital Mumbai.
Amid the limited supply of vaccines, the public vaccination drive was cancelled in Mumbai thrice, where the local train travel also now depends on complete vaccination. Ever since the first jab was administered in 2021, Maharashtra has been ahead of other states in inoculating doses. The state was first in giving four crore doses much before the other states.
Uttar Pradesh would be the close second, trailing by a few lakh doses. Dr Subhash Salunkhe, an advisor to the state government, told TOI that it is ‘unfair’ that badly-hit states like Maharashtra and Kerala are not prioritised. Rural areas cannot be given preference if a third wave is to be averted, he added.
Maharashtra till now has received 3.7 crore doses from the Centre and procured 25 lakh on its own. The rest has been administered by the private sector and through CSR. Mumbai has fully vaccinated only 22% of its estimated eligible population of 90 lakh.
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