Even as India is inching closer to covering almost half of its adult population with at least the first dose of Covid vaccines, theCentreis concerned about the low uptake of jabs among women, particularly in states likeUttarPradesh,Biharand Madhya Pradesh. Overall, about 46% of total 52.2 crore doses administered so far have been given to women.

At present, the gap between the coverage among male and females is about 7-8%. This is slightly on the higher side given that there is not much difference in the overall adult male and female Population ratio. The gap in immunisation coverage between the two genders should not be more than 2-3%.

The current gender distortion is also more significant among elderly population than in younger females.