Tripura administered vaccine 100% to 45 yrs + and 78.43% to 18 yrs + age group

Agartala: As advised by the High Court Tripura regarding rectification of his inaccurate claim to be the top in vaccination coverage in the country, Mission Director of NHM Dr Siddharth Shib Jaiswal on Sunday came out with the clarification re-claiming that as on the date cent per cent people above 45 yrs of Tripura have received the first dose of vaccine and 53.92 per cent got the second shot.
However, in the 18 years above group, it was 78.43 per cent for the first dose and 24.67 per cent of them have also been administered the second dose. Dr Jaiswal stated that as per the census record Tripura has a projected population of above 18 yrs of age at 26.24 lakh who are eligible to receive Covid vaccine and record shows first dose has already been administered to over 27 lakh population and 6.47 got the second dose.
Referring to the Census report, Dr Jaiswal stated that Tripura has 9.94 lakh people belonging to above 45 yrs and 16.3 lakh belonging to 18-44 yrs age group while 0-18 yrs population is 13.95 lakh. Based on this population strata vaccination planning was made and carried out, he said adding, “We have prepared the plan and sent requisition based on the census data.”
The controversy erupted when a division bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice Akil Kureshi and Justice Subhashis Talapatra observed inconsistent figures in the state government affidavit in connection with a PIL on the Covid situation. The high court took exception to the claim of the Tripura government last month that 80 per cent of the population of all eligible age groups have received the first dose of vaccine and in the case of above 45 years age group the coverage was 98 per cent, which was contradictory to the affidavit.
Displeased with the inaccuracy of vaccine data the court stated, “From the beginning we have been putting great stress on the reliability of public information distribution because we believe that it is only when there is total transparency and accuracy in data provided by the State machinery that the people will understand the correct picture and will have faith in data distribution system. When a responsible officer provided information which was inaccurate, expected him to issue a correction statement to the press.”
The high court will hear the case on July 19 next.