In May 2021, former Union Minister Prakash Javadekar had said adults in India would be fully vaccinated by December. In the same month, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta assured the Supreme Court that “on vaccination, as per our estimate, from the domestic market and Sputnik V, we expect the entire eligible population to get vaccinated by the end of this year”. In July 2021, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar had stated in a written reply in the Lok Sabha that “it is expected that eligible beneficiaries aged 18 years and above will be vaccinated by December 2021”. In the same month, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had reiterated this in another reply in the Lok Sabha. However, by December 31, 89.4% of adults had received their first dose and 64.2% had been fully vaccinated. The poor vaccination rate in May (when those aged 18 and above were allowed to get vaccinated) and a drop in pace in October and November have hurt India’s progress. Data show that while States such as Gujarat and Karnataka are just days away from achieving their targets, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are still months away even if they continue vaccination at their highest daily rate.
Actual and required rate
The graph depicts the average daily doses administered every month and the required rate at the end of each month to fully vaccinate adults by December 31, 2021. The drop in vaccination pace in October and November caused the required rate to surge.
Average daily doses administered and rate required Jan 3
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State of play
The chart shows the number of days it will take for each State to vaccinate adults fully. The green circle indicates the days to achieve the target if the States continue to vaccinate at their pace recorded in December. The grey circle indicates the days to achieve the target if they vaccinate at their highest pace recorded last year. For instance, Punjab will take another 248 days if it continues at its December pace or 76 days if it continues at its peak pace. Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh have fully vaccinated >99% of adults.
Chart 2 days it will take for full coverage Jan 3
Doses by December
The maps show the share of population covered with one dose and two doses by December 31.
Chart 3 First dose coverage as of December 31
Chart 4 adults covered with both doses as of December 31
Source: Health Ministry
Also read: Data | What preliminary data tells us about the Omicron surge in the U.K.
