More jabs administered in urban districts than in rural

DATA ON THE CO-WIN WEBSITE SHOWS DOSES ADMINISTERED IN URBAN DISTRICTS WERE NEARLY 1.7 TIMES THOSE IN RURAL DISTRICTS AS ON MAY 13

Abhishek Jha and Deeksha Bhardwaj

NEW DELHI: The Covid-19 vaccination drive, which was opened to all adults from May 1, has managed to cover significantly more ground in urban districts in India, data analysed from the CO-WIN dashboard shows, strengthening criticism that the digital-only process could be leaving out a large section of the rural population.

District wise data provided on the CO-WIN website, analysed by Hindustan Times, shows that doses administered in urban districts were nearly 1.7 times those in rural districts as on May 13.

While this divide has persisted in all phases of the vaccination drive – which initially opened for health care workers, followed by frontline workers and people above 60, and then those over the age of 45 – it has particularly widened since May 1, when all adults became eligible for doses.

India allowed people above 60 to get doses from March 1, and those above 45 from April 1.

As on May 13, the gap between per capita doses in urban compared to rural areas was the widest ever. To be sure, the divide between urban and rural areas has always been higher at the beginning of each phase and reduced over time.

In the first thirteen days of the first phase of vaccination – when only health care workers were being vaccinated -- the share of total doses administered in the urban districts (where only up to 40% population is rural) was 0.25% compared to 0.18% in rural districts (where more than 60% population is rural). This means that adjusted for populations, urban areas administered 1.39 times the number of doses of their rural counterparts. The average of this ratio for these first 13 days was also around this number.