Covid booster jabs see 10% dip from last week despite govt push

Just five of 36 states/UTs have covered at least a third of the adult population with a booster dose

One of the objectives of the free booster programme, launched on July 15 for 75 days, was to increase the speed of administering the third dose of Covid-19 vaccine in the country.

Although the government has distributed nearly 100 million doses in the last 45 days, a Business Standard analysis found that administering booster doses has slowed down. Given the declining pace, the Centre is reportedly pushing states to ramp up the coverage of booster doses. The government had set a target to administer a booster dose to all eligible adults by September 28.

The analysis shows that till August