Daily COVID-19 vaccinations dip in India, low Covaxin supply chief reason: Report

India, which was battered by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, is witnessing a dip in daily vaccinations. In the week of July 5 to 10, the average daily vaccinations were 37.2 lakh. This was down from 42 lakh doses administered from June 28 to 4 and 61.1 lakh doses in the week starting June 21, CoWIN data showed.

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In rural areas, the number of daily vaccine doses administered from June 25 to 30 was in the range of 9.9 lakh to 40.4 lakh. This came down to 8 lakh to 38.1 lakh doses between July 1 to 9.

Similarly, in urban areas, the number of vaccinations from July 1 to 9 fell in the range of 7.6 lakh to 27.8 lakh. This was down from 8.2 lakh to 31.8 lakh from June 25 to 30.

Reasons behind the dip

The dip in daily vaccinations was primarily because of disruptions at Bharat Biotech‘s Bengaluru plant, which resulted in a less than expected supply of Covaxin doses that was expected at the beginning of this month, wrote the Times of India quoting sources. 

“It is a new facility with a large-scale fermentation plant,” the source said, adding that the trial batches were disrupted during the standardisation process, resulting in less than expected Covaxin supply.

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“That has been sorted out now,” the source said.

CoWin data showed that the dip was also because fewer people were initiating the first dose.

Government’s expectation

Although the country is witnessing a dip in the number of daily vaccinations, the Centre expects to maintain a daily average of 40 to 45 lakh doses in July. It also expects an estimated supply of at least 12 crore vaccine doses this month.

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India started its mass vaccination drive against COVID-19 on January 16. As per the latest count, 377,352,501 doses have been administered, including 1,235,287 doses given on July 11.