UP, Punjab are among the states with least number of teens vaccinated: Data

The two large poll-bound states have covered inoculation against Covid for less than 20% of the teen population with the first dose

Until Monday, India had administered the first dose to 23.8 million teens within a week of starting vaccinations for 15-18 years old. While 31.3 per cent of the teen population has received the first dose, the pace of vaccination is uneven across the country.

A Business Standard analysis shows that two of the largest states preparing for elections have had the worst performance in terms of first dose administration to 15-18 year olds.

Uttar Pradesh was able to administer first doses to only 16.4 per cent of the population, whereas Punjab covered just 2.4 per cent of the teens in the state till Monday. In contrast, Andhra Pradesh had vaccinated 86.9 per cent of the people aged 15-18, and Himachal Pradesh has administered the first dose to 69.8 per cent of the people in this age group. Gujarat was the only other state to administer the first dose to over 50 per cent of the teen population.

Of the 23 large states and union territories analysed by Business Standard, ten were below the national average.

Among them, two states, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which account for nearly a third of the country's teen population, administered the first dose to just 16.4 per cent and 19.5 per cent of the people, respectively.

However, in terms of doses administered, Uttar Pradesh tops the list, having administered 2.4 million doses—10.2 per cent of the total doses administered in the country. Madhya Pradesh accounted for 9.4 per cent of the doses, Andhra Pradesh accounted for 8.4 per cent and Gujarat for 7.9 per cent of the total doses administered in the last seven days. Punjab, which accounts for 1.8 per cent of the total population, only has a 0.1 per cent share in first dose administration.

At the current pace, while Andhra Pradesh would complete its first dose administration by Wednesday, Punjab, which has averaged less than 5,000 doses daily, will take 287 days to administer the first dose to all teens. Uttar Pradesh will need 36 days to vaccinate all those aged 15-18; Gujarat, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh would require less than a week.

The country's total daily dose administration averaged 890,000 over the last week--the highest since September 24, when the country had averaged 980,000 doses, owing to 2.2 million doses administered on the Prime Minister's birthday on September 17.