CHANDIGARH: With Covid-19 vaccination drive gradually picking up pace, the Punjab government eyes to provide at least one dose to the eligible population by end of October.
After struggling with low coverage for nearly seven months, largely due to irregular supply, vaccine coverage has started to improve with an average of 2.14 lakh shots being administered daily across the state in the last 23 days.
In the ongoing month, 4,941,737 jabs have been administered till September 23, which accounts for 26.68% of 18,516,741 doses of vaccines given to the eligible population to date.
So far, around 1.40 crore eligible beneficiaries have been partially vaccinated and about 70 lakh beneficiaries are yet to receive their first dose. If the health department manages to maintain the current daily average of doses being administered, the remaining population will be covered by the end of next month.
Punjab’s nodal officer for vaccination Vikas Garg maintained that the entire eligible population will be covered in the next 30 days. “We are organising mega camps in rural areas. One such camp will be organised on September 25 in which we are hopeful of inoculating 7-8 lakh beneficiaries,” said Garg.
According to records of the state health department, Ludhiana leads in the coverage of the first dose with 19,93,891 people receiving the first dose followed by Jalandhar where 12,91,502 were given the first dose, 10,71,510 in Amritsar, 9,42,878 in Hoshiarpur and 9,37,203 in Patiala. Both the doses have been given to 46,34,884 eligible individuals.
As per research data, one dose of vaccine reduces the risk of death from the disease by over 80% by about 95% after two doses. With the third wave of infection projected to hit by October, mass vaccination is viewed by health experts as the only hope along with adherence to Covid- appropriate behaviour in keeping the situation under control.
Catching up
After trailing for long, Punjab has caught up with the national average. Out of every 100, Punjab has so far managed to administer the first dose to 46.1 persons against the national average of 46.3. The neighbouring states of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana have provided the first dose to 82.1 persons and 19.9 per 100, respectively. In Punjab 15.4 per 100 have been fully vaccinated against the national average of 16.1. In Himachal and Haryana, 36.1 and 19.9 per 100 have been fully vaccinated.
Vaccinations by month
Month | Total
January | 55,498
February | 145,372
March | 8,86,628
April | 2,547,615
May | 1,418,712
June | 1,928,349
July | 2,553,013
August | 4,057,817
Till September 23 | 4,941,737
TOTAL | 18,516,741
