What India needs to do to give doses to all by year-end

NEW DELHI: For India to meet its target of vaccinating its entire adult population by the end of 2021, the country needs to administer 1.88 billion doses in total, of which 1.67 billion or 89% are yet to be administered. This means that the country needs to deliver 238 million doses every month from June or risk falling behind target, shows data analysed by HT.

To vaccinate everyone, including those below 18 years of age by the end of 2021, India needs to administer 2.51 billion doses from June to December, or 359 million doses every month.

Till May 31, the country has administered over 215 million doses, the third highest number of total doses delivered in any country (behind only China and the United States).

In the race for vaccination, as is the case in a run chase in cricket, a slower run rate at the beginning of an innings requires slogging as the inning progresses. This concept may play a crucial role in India meeting its target, as if it falls behind in its initial months, the year-end target may get more and more difficult to meet.