India Will Take 32 Months To Vaccinate Entire Population

Corona Vaccine

For the 130 Cr population in India, it is a humongous task for the governments to provide the vaccination. Due to several delays and misconceptions, everyone who avoided the vaccine is now coming forward to get their jab. However, there is no stock available in India right now. The government placed bulk orders with the vaccine companies which they are trying to fulfill by working round the clock. As per the reports, it would take almost 32 months (2 years 8 months) to fully vaccinate the people between 18-45 in the country.

The first phase of vaccination was rolled out for the senior citizens in the country. The second phase of vaccination was rolled out for those who are aged 45 and above. Recently, the government has given access to 18+ to register themselves for the vaccine but there are no slots available for them.

The government’s current priority is to fulfill the vaccination for those who are waiting for their second dose. There are no vaccines available for the 45+ people at this point and the government is trying to manage with the available number. Due to this, a lot of people are selling vaccines in the black market.

Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy recently commented that the state can give vaccines to those between 18-45 only in towards this year-ending. However, with the available number of vaccines, it might further get delayed.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised up its global growth projection for 2021 to 6.0 percent (from 5.5 percent projected in January 2021) on the assumption that vaccines would be available in advanced economies (AEs) and some emerging market economies (EMEs) by the summer of 2021 and in most other countries by the second half of 2022.”

Many misunderstood this statement that RBI has hinted about the availability of vaccines by the second half of 2022.

Not considering RBI’s statement, the current scenario in the country clearly suggests that the vaccination might not begin in a full-fledged manner for 18-45 years this year.

Shantha Ram biotech head KI Vara Prasad Reddy recently blamed the government for the shortage of vaccines. Speaking in multiple TV channels, he said, “The government failed to promote the vaccination drive in the first phase and did not readily clear off the rumors about the side-effects of the vaccine. They also exported vaccines to other countries and did not readily keep the orders for Indian citizens. With the second wave of Corona reading like wildfire, everyone is coming forward to get their jab but there are not enough vaccines.”

Whatever it may be, the governments of all the states are working hard to accommodate the available vaccines to the eligible citizens already. As the reports suggest, if it would really take 32 more months for India to get fully vaccinated, it is a big crisis situation.

All we can do now is to pray for the wave to come down.

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