Siddaramaiah questions celebration of 1 bn COVID vaccinations

Bengaluru, Oct 22: Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Friday questioned the celebration over administration of one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses in the country when only 21 per cent of the people have been fully vaccinated so far.

In a series of tweets, the Congress stalwart hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP for not yet vaccinating the entire eligible population.

"'1 billion doses' sounds fancy number but the devil is in the details. Only 29 Cr people out of 139Cr are fully vaccinated, which means only about 21% are fully vaccinated. What are @BJP4India leaders celebrating for? For vaccinating just 21% of the population?" Siddaramiah asked in a tweet.

According to the Congress veteran, only 29 crore people have received two-doses and 42 crore have got only one, leaving 62 crore without any single dose of vaccine.

"With just 29 Cr (21%) people fully vaccinated, India's position is still in danger. Are @BJP4India leaders celebrating India's vulnerability?" he asked.

The leader of opposition in the assembly also claimed that India still needed about 106 crore doses to fully vaccinate the target by December 31, which means 1.51 crore doses have to be administered everyday. He asked Modi whether India is prepared to administer 106 crore doses by December end and ensure all Indians are fully vaccinated by this year.

Siddaramaiah noted that 56 per cent of the population in the US is fully vaccinated, in China it is 70 per cent and in Canada 71 per cent. "But India's vaccine coverage is just 21%. Mr. @narendramodi, let us raise the bar before celebrating!!" the former Chief Minister took a jibe.

Pointing out that there may be a need for booster dose too, Siddaramaiah said, "With even first doses and second doses pending for large population, can we even think of booster dose? Mr PM @narendramodi, Let us put celebrations on hold & concentrate on vaccinating everyone."

The Co-WIN portal data had said on Thursday that over 71 crore vaccine doses were administered as the first dose and over 29 crore as the second dose.

More than 75 per cent of India's adult population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, with nine states and union territories administering the first dose to all eligible people. Over 31 per cent of the country's around 93 crore adults have been administered both the doses, according to Health Ministry officials.