Covid-19 Vaccine Without Waning

A majority of MOTN respondents give a thumbs up to the Union government’s vaccination drive and Covid efforts, with Odisha scoring top marks among states for its handling of the pandemic

- Sonali Acharjee

On January 7, a year after India commenced the world’s largest vaccination programme, the country achieved a landmark when it finished administering a total of 1.5 billion doses. In comparison, the US has administered 520 million doses, the UK 130.7 million. At present, 92 per cent of India’s eligible adult population has received the first dose of the vaccine while 70 per cent have received both doses. The programme has been so successful that Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya calls it a “role model for the global community”. Indeed, few countries have had to vaccinate a population as large or as geographically varied as India. From sending vaccines via drones to far-flung regions in the upper Himalayas, to mobilising local community leaders to overcome vaccine hesitancy, the programme has conquered several obstacles.