We now have more vaccination sites; we also need to increase vaccinations

India’s record 22.8 million doses on September 17 was made possible because it set up more than 110,000 centers that day, 43% more than the previous record. Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Telangana, Gujarat and Haryana are the five states that have made the most progress – they now have on average at least three times more vaccination sites per day than two months ago .

Each of these states also administered at least 500 doses per 1,000 population. Among the states with the lowest vaccine distribution rates, while Bihar and Jharkhand have doubled vaccination sites since July, Uttar Pradesh has increased it by about 62%. Kerala, which has coverage of 907 doses per 1,000 population, increased the number of sites from 1,005 in the third week of July to 1,622 this week.

If India has demonstrated its ability to speed up distribution, the main constraint will remain vaccine production. India must administer 17.9 million doses per day to reach its target of 2.16 billion by the end of the year. Over the past seven days, it has averaged 9.7 million doses per day.

Cross-border vaccines

India this week recorded the largest increase in immunization coverage among the 10 most populous countries. Bangladesh slipped from first place to third place. Even with an improved rate of growth in recent times, Bangladesh’s immunization coverage remained the lowest of this group, at 22 doses per 100 population. The country is expected to receive vaccines from India in October as part of the Serum Institute of India’s commitment to Covax.

Indonesia, which jumped to second place this week, has seen a 6.9% weekly coverage growth as it aims to inoculate at least 70% of its population with at least one dose by November of this year when it plans to reopen its borders. So far, 45% of its population has received at least the first dose. The Philippines, in fourth place, maintained their high pace, having received 9.8 million vaccines this week, mostly from Chinese Sinovac.

Disturbing return

India reported a 4.4% growth in the number of new weekly infections, its first increase in three weeks. Of its 717 districts, 269 saw an increase, with 61 reporting more than 100 cases. On the positive side, 173 districts reported no new infections.

Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa and Mizoram experienced the strongest growth over the past week. Jammu and Kashmir, which has seen a steady increase this month, has reported 1,122 cases in the past seven days, the most in a week since July. Over 50% of cases are from Srinagar. Ladakh reported 118 new cases, up from 32 last week. Cases in Leh climbed to 115 this week from 21 cases the week before, amid an increased tourist presence.

As Kerala continues to report the most new cases, its number is steadily declining. Mizoram has recorded an increase in the number of cases for the seventh week in a row, reporting more than 8,000 new cases last week.

Decreased deaths

India continued to see a declining death toll. The 2,120 covid-related deaths this week were 2.7% lower than last week. Nine states and union territories reported no new deaths and 14 reported less than 10 each.

Kerala, which leads the nation’s death toll, reported 1,052 deaths this week, more than the next three combined. Maharashtra reported 387 deaths, followed by Tamil Nadu (154) and Karnataka (131). While the death toll in Tamil Nadu has declined since last week, it has increased in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Karnataka has reported 131 deaths, up from 79 last week, mainly due to an increase in Bengaluru Urban, Belgaum and Udupi. Among the districts, Thrissur, Malappuram and Palakkad, all from Kerala, reported the most deaths.

To ensure that more Indians do not die from covid-19, the country faces the challenge of further increasing the pace of vaccinations even as it resumes vaccine exports.

(howindialives.com is a public data database and search engine)