Cities lag behind Gujarat's average in booster shots

The state has so far administered 1.93 crore booster doses for Covid-19 vaccine.

In terms of percentage, 36% of those who have received the first two doses have opted for the third dose.

Compared to this average, major cities of the state except Vadodara have registered lower percentages.

The bottom five booster-jabbed cities or districts include Surat city with 20% of the eligible population getting vaccinated; Ahmedabad city recorded 21%, Jamnagar city 22%, Rajkot city 24%, and Kutch 26%.

The top five booster-jabbed districts or cities included Aravalli with 69% coverage, followed by Botad at 64%, Tapi at 59%, Mahisagar at 57%, and Vadodara city at 56%.

Manoj Aggarwal, ACS (health), said that the limit of free doses has been extended, and any person above 18 years can avail of the booster dose after the stipulated gap from the date of the second dose.

Gujarat is among the states with 100% coverage of first and second doses of Covid-19 vaccine. Experts said that vaccination has reduced both severity of the infection and mortality.