Drive widens, 50mn set for both shots by May 15

Anyone above 45 can get doses from today, experts see it as crucial in order to contain second wave

NEW DELHI: As all Indians above the age of 45 become eligible for coronavirus vaccines starting Thursday, HT’s projections show at least 50 million people will have received both shots by the middle of May, and over 100 million by mid-June if the country can keep administering an average of 4 million doses a day, a pace that could help India turn the tide against the building second wave of infections.

Union health officials held a video conference with state officials on Wednesday to discuss preparations for the opening-up of the drive, suggesting administrators focus on improving coverage in underserved areas and focussing on ironing out teething problems that could occur. Experts have also called on the need to address vaccine hesitancy among people, especially in order to maintain and improve the pace of vaccination.

According to HT’s analysis, the total number of people who have received at least one shot of the vaccine is set to surpass 300 million in early June. Vaccination numbers for the second dose will particularly pick up pace through the second half of April. These numbers are significant because India is in the grip of a second wave and case and death numbers are certain to rise through April in what is clearly going to be a race between the virus and the vaccine. India’s vaccine drive has seen a slow start, relative to the size of the country and the number of people that need to be vaccinated. Part of this can be attributed to vaccine hesitancy, but some of it is also because of the way the health ministry has chosen to go about the drive. Which is what makes April and May extremely important.