Aizawl: Up to 76 per cent of people in the age group of 45 years and above have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in Mizoram since January 16, an official said on Friday.
Dr Eric Zomawia, mission director of National Health Mission (NHM) Mizoram, said that the vaccination drive is being expedited across the state amid the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.
“As many as 76 per cent of people in the age group of 45 years and above have been administered the first dose of Covishield vaccine till Thursday against the national average of 43 per cent,” he said.
While the national average for COVID-19 vaccination in 18-44 years age group is 11 per cent, Mizoram has already vaccinated 41 per cent of this age group, he said.
The number of people who are 45 years and above in the state is estimated to be over 2.64 lakh and that of 18-44 age group is about 5.10 lakh, according to Zomawia.
He said that vaccines are given to the beneficiaries free of cost. However, private facilities charge fees for vaccines based on the Union health ministry norms, he said.
He said that the state now has enough stock of vaccine and 82,220 more doses are expected to arrive in the state by next week. “With the arrival of 82,220 doses, we are expected to have a stock of over 1.6 lakh doses by next week,” he said.
The official also said that the state has not reported any severe adverse effects, though there was rumour of post-vaccination death, which is under investigation.
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According to state immunisation officer Dr Lalzawmi, more than 4.59 lakh people have been administered the first dose of vaccine till Thursday and out of this 53,960 have been fully vaccinated.
Over 2 lakh people of 18-44 age group were among 4.59 lakh beneficiaries, who have been vaccinated, she said.
Mizoram is currently grappling with the second wave of COVID-19.
The government has currently imposed lockdown in Aizawl Municipal Corporation (AMC) area and certain COVID-19 curbs in other parts of the state, which will remain in force till 4 am of June 30.
The northeastern state on Thursday reported 224 COVID-19 cases, which pushed the state’s tally to 18,859. The COVID-19 death toll in the state has risen to 89 on Friday with the death of 54-year-old man at Zoram Medical College (ZMC) near Aizawl.
At least 153 people were discharged from various COVID-19 Care facilities on Friday, which took the total recoveries to 14,469.
The number of active cases now stands at 4301. The recovery rate in the state stands at 76.72 per cent, while the mortality rate is at 0.47 per cent.