Experts raise concerns over slow pace of Covid-19 vaccination as new virus variants enter India
On Tuesday, the government said four people were detected with the South Africa variant of SARS-CoV-2 and one tested positive for the Brazil variant in the country.
With the detection of the more contagious South Africa and Brazil variant of SARS-CoV-2 in India, experts have flagged the slow pace of Covid-19 vaccination in the country. Several experts India Today spoke to stressed the need to "out-vaccinate" the coronavirus and its variants.
On Tuesday, the government said four people were detected with the South Africa variant of SARS-CoV-2 and one tested positive for the Brazil variant in the country for the first time in India. The number of people who have tested positive for the UK variant in the country has climbed to 187.
"The B.1.1.7 (UK) variant is more transmissible and very likely cause more severe disease. As it begins to spread in India, we have to accelerate our vaccination programme to prevent a surge caused by the variant," Dr Swapneil Parikh, author of 'The Coronavirus', told India Today.
"We need to take advantage of the fact that daily cases are low and start scaling vaccinations now. Once cases start surging, it will be too late," he said.
As of February 16 -- one month since India started its Covid-19 immunisation drive -- 87,40,595 vaccine doses have been administered in the country, out of which a total of 62,82,646 healthcare workers have been vaccinated.
Slow pace of vaccination in India
Experts have highlighted that at the current rate of vaccination, India would not be able to reach its aim of inoculating 300 million people by July. "Even after a month into the vaccination drive, the average daily vaccination doses administered remains only around 3.5 lakh. At this rate, only 32 million beneficiaries could be vaccinated, with two doses each, by August as against the original target of 300 million," said health economist Professor Rijo John.
Last month, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said India would vaccinate 1 crore healthcare workers, two crore frontline workers and 27 crore people above the age of 50 by July 2021.
Globally, India stands at the fourth spot in terms of doses administered. As per Our World In Data, China has administered the maximum doses followed by the USA and the UK.
With the government yet to start dosing people above 50 years of age, former Indian Medical Association president Dr Rajeev Jayadevan said the quickest way to bring down the death rate in India was by vaccinating the elderly.
"There are so many senior citizens who are desperately waiting to get the vaccine and we must not delay their turn. Because of strictly regulated and restricted supply of vaccine among high-priority groups, the general public has not received any protection to date," he said.
Involving private sector in vaccination drive
While the government has allotted Rs 35,000 crore for Covid-19 vaccines in the Budget, experts said the inoculation drive cannot not be accelerated without the participation of the private sector. The government has expressed its desire to keep vaccinations under its control for the time being.
"The latest ICMR sero survey indicates a disease prevalence of only about 21%. It is important that the pace of vaccination is increased significantly to achieve acceptable levels of immunity in the population," Professor Rijo John said. The Union Health Ministry has said that 70 per cent of the population was still vulnerable.
Other glitches slowing down Covid vaccination
Apart from vaccine hesitancy, there are other glitches too that is slowing down the immunisation process. "The cumbersome registration process can be waived because the vaccines are extremely safe. The post-vaccination experience, including our own study of 5,396 healthcare workers, shows that it is no different from a regular flu shot or tetanus toxoid. Misinformation and information overload is also a major problem," Dr Jayadevan told India Today.
The government has maintained that there have been no deaths following vaccination. "According to news reports, 11 deaths were reported in India in the past month following vaccination. This is nowhere near the expected death rate and should not be confused for 'death due to vaccine'," said Dr Jayadevan.
"In the first month of Covid vaccination, 80,00,000 (0.8 crore) people got dosed. The expected background rate of death for this population is 6000 x 0.8 = 4800," he said.
In other words, this number (4,800) would have died whether the vaccine was given or not, he said. By the same measure, 1,600 people would have had heart attacks and several people would have got neurological events, including 1500 strokes. "This number must be kept in mind when discussing the topic of 'deaths following vaccination'," he said.
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