A day after Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest daily Covid-19 vaccinations, the state's numbers witnessed a free fall, plummeting to a mere 4,842 doses on Tuesday, from a whopping high of 17.4 lakh doses on Monday.
India achieved a record 89 lakh vaccinations on June 21, the inaugural day of the new vaccine policy where the Centre procures the doses to be distributed to states. Various states across the country ramped up vaccinations, however, Madhya Pradesh topped the table with 17 lakh doses administered on a single day.
On Sunday, a day before the new drive came into force, MP had administered meagre 692 doses. While vaccinations usually drop on Sunday, the state administered 43,783 doses the previous Sunday, June 13, and over 1.2 lakh on the first Sunday of June, according to data available on Co-WIN.
By a massive margin, MP's feat on Monday remains an anomaly.
In Indore, for instance, the doses administered went from 212 doses on Sunday to 2.27 lakh the next day. However, on Tuesday, the number plummeted to 447.
Elsewhere, daily vaccinations of Karnataka, the second state on the record day after MP, also witnessed a substantial fall on Tuesday -- from 11.95 lakh to 3.95 lakh. However, the state's Tuesday numbers are not a large deviation from June's average.
Bengaluru's vaccinations also plummet
Vaccinations in Bengaluru Urban, the district to administer the highest number of doses on Monday, also fell steeply to 84,743 on Tuesday from over 2.16 lakh at its highest on June 21. On June 20, ths district administered merely 28,464 doses, the lowest in at least the last 30 days.
In some states, such as Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, Tuesday's numbers were higher than their Monday records. Across the country, vaccinations fell 40 per cent on Tuesday in contrast with Monday figures. Centre, however, rubbished the claim that 89 lakh vaccinations were a one-time event.
“The increase in vaccinations yesterday wasn't sudden. The average number of vaccinations was nearly 34 lakh per day from June 1 to June 21. To go from there to 88 lakh is possible, when vaccines and capacity is available. This was a result of coordinated planning between States and Centre and is expected to continue,” Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Ministry of Health, said on Tuesday.
Senior Congress Jairam Ramesh voiced doubt over Madhya Pradesh's Monday vaccinations and wrote, "Who are we trying to fool here?"
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