AHMEDABAD: With 2.81 lakh second doses of Covid vaccination on Tuesday, Gujarat achieved the landmark of becoming the first among major states (having 2 crore and above population) of India to fully vaccinate 50% of the eligible population. Overall, the state is third in terms of second dose compliance behind Himachal Pradesh (58%) and Jammu & Kashmir (50.8%). Out of 4.93 crore eligible population of 18+ years, the state now has 2.48 crore fully vaccinated.
Gujarat is followed by Kerala. The news came on the day when the state again recorded a spike in daily cases with 30 – a 12-day high. The experts however said that the vaccination would go a long way to provide protection against severity and mortality.
Analysis of the districts and municipal corporations reveal that all eight municipal corporations and 16 out of 33 districts have achieved 50% or more full vaccination targets. The highest coverage of population was recorded in Gandhinagar city at 73%, whereas the lowest was recorded in Dang at 29%.
Some districts in Gujarat have lower compliance for the second dose
State health department officials said that some of the districts have lower compliance for the second dose and thus districts are instructed to call up those who had taken the first dose and were due for the second. The figure is estimated to be about 30 lakh, said sources.
Since October 3, the number of persons getting the second shot has surpassed those coming for the first jab – in the past week, the daily number is three to four times, said officials. The state has achieved 90% coverage of the first dose of vaccine for the eligible population.
