District-Wise Disparity Seen In India’s Vaccine Coverage Map
Credit Suisse says disparity in vaccine coverage could show up in fatality rates in the next 2-3 weeks.
A district-wise mapping of India’s vaccination coverage against Covid-19 has shown significant disparity so far, even as the country tries to accelerate its inoculation drive and curb a deadly second wave of the virus.
Several districts in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and the North-Eastern states have only vaccinated less than 5% of their population, according to an analysis by Credit Suisse. That’s in contrast to districts in states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala that have already administered shots to more than 10% of the population.
Credit Suisse said that while there has been no visible divergence in the fatalities reported by these districts, that could show up in the next 2-3 weeks.
A pace of vaccinating around 35-40 lakh people daily in India has been considered sustainable to reduce the spread, it noted. However, in the last five days the pace has slowed down to 25-30 lakh a day, Credit Suisse said.
Even at this pace, about 40% of the population over the age of 45 can have at least one of their two doses by the end of April, it said. “This should reduce deaths, and also slow infections.”
