With 94.57% of the 4.89 crore eligible population in the State having been jabbed with the first dose till Thursday, Karnataka has moved up to the first position among larger States in terms of first dose vaccination.
Karnataka, which stood in the third position in first dose administration till a week ago, is now followed by Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh where 94.46% and 93.83% of the target population has been covered with one dose, according to data from CoWIN.
From 21,013 average vaccinations per day in January when COVID-19 vaccination was rolled out, the State’s daily average vaccinations shot up to 4,83,144 in September, the highest. September also saw 1,40,11,162 doses administered, the highest so far. While a total of 91,15,528 doses were administered in November, over 53% (48,73,88%) of this number have been administered in the last nine days alone this month. In fact, vaccinations have picked up since November 26, following growing concern over Omicron, the new variant.
So far, three districts - Bengaluru Urban, Gadag, and Vijayapura - have achieved 100% coverage in terms of first dose administration. While Kodagu has covered 99% of the target population, twelve other districts including Chickballapur, Belagavi, Davangere, Udupi, Ballari, and Uttara Kannada have achieved 95% coverage and above. With the State having administered a total of 3,31,06,589 second doses of COVID-19 vaccine as of Thursday, 67.6% of the eligible 4.89 crore population in the State has been fully vaccinated so far.
Arundhathi Chandrashekar, State Mission Director, National Health Mission, said the focus is now on second dose administration. “As on December 9, nearly 46,000 people who have taken their first doses are due for second doses in the next few days. We have been prioritising people who come for second doses,” she said. Pointing out that 92% of the target population in Bengaluru Urban has been fully inoculated, the official said Kodagu follows with 83% second dose coverage.
“We are hoping to cover around 96%-97% of the eligible population with first doses by December-end. The remaining population that may be left out could be because of migration and contraindications. Some may not be medically fit to get vaccinated due to immunocompromised conditions or recent COVID infection,” she explained.
“Our efforts to motivate and sensitise people, especially those who are due for second doses, will be further intensified through door-to-door visits and information, education and communication activities,” she said.
Health and Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar, who tweeted about Karnataka’s first dose achievement, said: “The rate of vaccination has picked up in December. The Omicron scare also drove people to vaccination centres in larger numbers. As announced earlier, we have a target of completing vaccination by the end of this year.”
