HYDERABAD: Despite organising the vaccination drives for the 18-44 age group in a staggered manner with an initial focus on high-risk and high-exposure groups, Telangana has managed to vaccinate 40 lakh citizens in the age group, according to data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
This implies that at present 40 per cent of all first doses in the State have been given to the younger generation who appear to be accepting vaccines at a faster rate than the older population.
According to MoFHW data, 40,28,748 individuals in the State belonging to the 18-44 age category received the first dose, and of these 55,277 received the second dose as well.
In Kerala, which has a similar population to Telangana, only 19.17 lakh persons in the 18-44 age group have received their first dose.
In the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh, only 20.21 lakh persons in the 18-44 age group have received their first dose despite having a much larger population.
The 18-44 age group forms nearly 42 per cent of all those who received the first dose of the vaccine in the State, while the total number stands at 94,92,680 as of June 30.
858 CASES OF COVID, 9 DEATHS REPORTED IN TELANGANA
Telangana’s reported 858 cases of Covid-19 on Friday. The State’s active caseload now stands at 12,726 cases with nearly 1,175 individuals recovering from the disease. Nine people died of the virus, taking the death toll to 3,678.