COVID-19 Notes
By Dr Satish K Gupta*
Delhi leads the pack in Covid vaccination drive
How much has the vaccination been effective in India?
- Vaccine effectiveness has been measured and data shows high vaccination has reduced morbidity and mortality.
- As per Data revealed by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR): In 2022, 92% Covid deaths are among unvaccinated.
- Besides, 21.8% of the people who died were partially vaccinated and 83% had co-morbidities.
- The first dose is responsible for 98.9 per cent vaccine effectiveness, and if both doses are given, then it is 99.3 per cent effective.
Data measuring portals in India
The National Database which combines three databases – CoWIN, ICMR Testing and India Portal Database has data of total 94,47,09,598 vaccine eligible individuals. Among them 15,39,37,796 are partially vaccinated, 73,98,46,222 are fully vaccinated and 5,09,25,580 are still unvaccinated.
Vaccination among Children
Over three crore adolescents, accounting for 41% of youngsters in the 15-17 year age group, are now fully vaccinated with two doses of Covaxin, while almost 75% have taken at least one jab. India has achieved this milestone in nearly two months since the rollout of the immunisation drive for 15-17-year-olds from January 3. Around 7.4 crore adolescents are estimated to be in this age category.
Government to take a call on jabbing India those aged 12-14 likely by end of this month
The government is now also expected to lower the age to 12 years by end of this month.
Approved vaccines in 12-17 category
- Apart from Covaxin, which is currently the only vaccine being administered to 15-17 years old, the drug regulator has also given emergency authorisation to Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D and Biological E’s Corbevax for 12-17 years old
- Besides, the Serum Institute of India’s Covovax has also been recommended for emergency use authorisation for those in the 12-17 years age bracket by the regulator expert committee.
With 3.17 crore doses to the 15 years and above, Delhi has the highest vaccine coverage among major cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
Vaccinating even without I-Card, the homeless and beggars
In Delhi, more than 45,000 doses have been administered to persons who did not possess any identity papers, including homeless and beggars. On July 27, 2021, the Supreme court had directed the Centre and Delhi government to indicate steps for vaccinating the population on the streets.
Last month, in India 77 lakh first doses were administered to persons without identity documents and over 14 lakh second doses were administered to such people. It is a difficult task to trace such people for a second dose.
Also read: Which has been the best Corona vaccine?
*Dr. Satish K Gupta is an MD in Medicines, a Visiting Senior Consultant Physician and Internist at Max Super Speciality Hospital, and a Clinical Assistant Professor at GS Medical College, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut. He is the author of Journey of COVID in India: A Doctor’s Perspective.
