Last year, during India’s two-month celebration of Dussehra and Diwali, the first wave of the pandemic wore off. The average number of daily cases decreased by 45% during this period. However, in 10 states — Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal — cases rose 17% after the festivities.
Although these states administered 784 doses per 1,000 population as of September 30, higher than the national average of 645 doses per 1,000 population, there are variations within states. The best performing, Himachal Pradesh, administered 1,122 doses per 1,000 inhabitants, 2.5 times more than Uttar Pradesh.
Likewise, while Himachal Pradesh and Delhi covered over 30% of the population with both doses, Uttar Pradesh only covered 8.5%. The number is 16% for West Bengal and Punjab.
Worryingly, the rate of vaccination slowed last week in these states by at least 2.1%, with the exception of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, where it increased by 2.1% and 12 respectively. , 3%. Globally in India, the vaccination rate fell to 7.1 million daily doses, from 9.75 million last week.
Post-birthday lull
India moved from the top to third place in weekly growth in immunization coverage among the most populous countries. This decrease is explained by a clear slowdown after the record of 22.8 million doses administered on September 17 on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday. Coverage growth slowed to 5.6% from 7.9%.
Bangladesh and Indonesia regained the first and second positions respectively. Bangladesh has picked up its pace nearly 1.2 times, thanks to a nationwide campaign its government launched on September 28 to immunize 8 million people on the anniversary of its prime minister.
Indonesia is also rapidly ramping up its vaccination campaign, having received 122,400 doses of AstraZeneca from Singapore earlier this week, as it seeks to reopen its tourism-dependent economy. At the current rate of 50 doses administered per 100 people, Indonesia lags behind its neighbors in Southeast Asia. The Indonesian government is currently weighing up a proposal to give a third free dose to its 114 million low-income people.
The push of the Mizoram
India reported 176,086 cases this week, down 18.6% from last week, and its lowest since March. Only 10 states have reported more cases this week compared to last. Each of them reported less than 150 new cases, with the exception of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Mizoram. Tamil Nadu has reported 105 more cases than last week, mainly due to Thiruvarur District, which reported 124 new cases this week.
Fourteen of West Bengal’s 23 districts reported an increase in infections this week. Six of them — Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Howrah and Hooghly, all from neighboring districts — account for 64% of its total cases.
Cases in Mizoram rose for the 16th week in a row, as its weekly tally exceeded 9,000 cases for the first time ever. Aizawl accounted for 65% of the state’s cases. Kerala has 143,546 active cases, the highest in India, but its weekly tally of confirmed cases is falling.
Lower toll
India reported 2,009 covid-related deaths this week, 5.3% fewer than last week, and its lowest toll since late March. Eight states and union territories reported no new deaths, while 15 reported fewer than 10 each.
Kerala’s weekly deaths fell below 1,000 this week, but still more than the next eight states combined. Maharashtra, number two, reported 347 deaths this week. Eleven states reported more deaths this week than last. The Haryana government added 64 deaths to the official tally earlier this week, due to a reconciliation exercise. Most of them were added to the districts of Sirsa (40) and Rewari (12). In the remaining 10, this week’s tally has increased by less than 15 each.
While infections and deaths have declined, last year’s experience shows they may increase during the holiday season. It is essential for India to step up the pace of vaccination.
(howindialives.com is a public data database and search engine)
Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our app now !!
