People below 45 account for 39% of total vaccinated in Gujarat

Published on July 5, 2021

AHMEDABAD: On Saturday, Gujarat with 2.23 lakh first doses of Covid-19 vaccines took the total tally of those in 18-44 years category to 39% of the total vaccinated in the state. With the number, the youngsters became the biggest category of the vaccine recipients in the state.

Those in 45-60 years age group account for 34% and those in 60-plus year category 27% of the total 2.68 crore vaccinations so far. Gujarat is third behind Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh in total vaccines administered.

The percentage however is much higher in the four major cities of Gujarat as Rajkot had 18-44 years accounting for 54% of vaccines, 52% in Ahmedabad and Surat, and 51% in Vadodara. Experts pointed at the early start of vaccination in seven cities and three districts as the reason behind the stats.

The state is facing acute vaccine shortage for the past few days as vaccination was halted in several vaccination booths across Gujarat. Long queues of the beneficiaries were seen in Ahmedabad and other cities as the authorities were forced to introduce token system to ensure vaccine jabs for all.

Analysis of the vaccination for the younger population reveals that among Gujarat’s neighbouring states, Madhya Pradesh has the young population accounting for 50% of total vaccination. Rajasthan had 37% in 18-44 years age group, whereas the figure was 33% for Maharashtra. Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh had 38% of the beneficiaries in the said age group, whereas Kerala’s total vaccination had 22% among the younger population.