After the breathless pace set on Monday, vaccinations slowed on Tuesday though, at 52.83 lakh doses, were still considerably higher than the recent daily average.
Madhya Pradesh, which administered a record 16.91 lakh doses on Monday, vaccinated fewer than 5,000 people on Tuesday, steeply bringing down the national number. The number of vaccinations recorded in M.P. is normally much lower on most Tuesdays indicating only a few centres are operational that day.
The record rise in vaccinations on the first day of revised immunisation policy was not surprising and was in fact a result of the Centre and the State governments collaborating to inoculate the maximum number of people, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said here at a media briefing. The States and UTs, collectively, have the capacity to deliver a significant number of doses as long as vaccine and advance information are available, he added.
“From June 1 to 21, the average per day vaccination has been 34,62,841. So, a jump from 34 lakh to 88 lakh when vaccines are available and when capacity is available is possible,” Bhushan said.
Besides this, the government said more than 29.35 crore vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far through its free-of-cost channel and via the direct State procurement category. Of this, the total consumption, including wastage was 27.20 crore doses.
Covaxin efficacy at 77.8%
The efficacy of indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin is put at 77.8 per cent, tad lower than the 81 per cent claimed by the interim data presented by its maker Bharat Biotech India Limited (BBIL) in March.
An expert panel of India’s apex drug regulator DCGI, which met on Tuesday, is learnt to have cleared the data submitted by the Hyderabad-based firm over the weekend. With the subject expert committee approving the data, the DCGI nod is just a formality.
The approval comes ahead of Bharat Bio’s ‘pre-submission’ meeting with the World Health Organization on Wednesday and will be a significant milestone in helping the firm secure EUL (Emergency Use Listing) for which it has already applied.
The vaccine-maker said it expects regulatory approvals by July-September.