New Delhi: The densely populated states/UTs are far behind than the states/UTs with lesser population in terms of vaccination coverage as among all the states and UTs, Ladakh is at the top in vaccinating its residents, while despite all the tall claims, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are the worst performers in vaccination coverage as both the states have vaccinated just 12 per cent of their population till 7 am on Monday.
As per Union Health Ministry's latest vaccination coverage data, Ladakh, which has an estimated population of 2.90 lakh, has vaccinated 74.7 per cent of its total population as the UT has vaccinated total 2,16,616 doses till 7 am on Monday. Another UT Lakshadweep, which has an estimated population of 74,151, has administered total 53,856 doses of Covid-19 vaccine, which is 72.6 per cent of the total vaccination coverage in the UT.
Sikkim, which is the smallest among northeastern states in terms of population, has administered the vaccine to 61.8 per cent of its population. The state's estimated population is about 7 lakh, while Tripura, which has an estimated population of 42 lakh, has achieved 59 per cent vaccination coverage as the BJP-ruled state has administered total 24,74,551 doses of the vaccine.
The country's tourist destination Goa has protected 54.5 per cent of its total population by administering total 8,71,473 doses of the vaccine, while the hilly state Himachal Pradesh, which is also tourist's preferred destination, has vaccinated 46.6 per cent of its population and Mizoram has achieved 44 per cent vaccination coverage.
Among the top 10 densely populated states, Gujarat, which has an estimated population of 6.43 crore, has achieved 38.7 per cent vaccination coverage followed by Karnataka at 31.8 per cent, Rajasthan at 29.4 per cent, Andhra Pradesh at 27.3 per cent, Maharashtra at 25 per cent, Madhya Pradesh at 22.8 per cent, West Bengal, which has vaccinated 21 per cent of its total estimated population of 10 crore.
Tamil Nadu has vaccination coverage of 19 per cent followed by Uttar Pradesh (12.6 per cent), which is the country's most populated state and Bihar has vaccination coverage of 12.4 per cent, which is worst in the country. The estimated population of Uttar Pradesh is about 24 crore and Bihar's estimated population is 12.70 core.
Mizoram (12.55 lakh) has achieved 43.9 per cent vaccination, while 43 per cent of total residents of Chandigarh have taken the Covid-19 vaccine.
Despite all the challenges of vaccine shortage that lead to the closure of several vaccination centres, Delhi, which is led by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, has vaccinated 38.6 per cent of its total estimated population of about 1.90 crore.
Kerala, which has reported the first Covid-19 case in January 2020, has achieved 37.6 per cent vaccination coverage. Uttarakhand has administered total 42,14,691 doses of vaccine, which is 37 per cent of vaccination coverage.
Arunachal Pradesh, which has an estimated population of about 15.92 lakh, has vaccinated 35 per cent of its population. Puducherry has achieved 33.6 per cent vaccination,
The Jammu & Kashmir has achieved 31.5 per cent vaccination coverage. The performance of Chhattisgarh is also much better than several other BJP-ruled states, as the state led by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has vaccinated 30 per cent of its estimated population of about 2.98 crore.
However, despite the shortage of vaccine, Odisha has vaccinated 24.7 per cent of its total population, which is estimated at about 4.69 crore and Telangana has inoculated 26 per cent of its total population.
Jharkhand, which faced 'acute shortage' of Covid-19 vaccine has reported 17 per cent vaccination. The state has administered total 66,69,722 doses of the vaccine. In Meghalaya, 19.5 per cent people got the vaccine, while in Manipur 19 per cent of its people have been given the vaccine.