Despite warnings and advice that precautions were needed, authorities were unprepared for the magnitude of the surge, said K Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India.
Critics have pointed to the government deciding to not pause Hindu religious festivals or elections, and experts say that these may have exacerbated the surge.
“Authorities across India, without exception, put public health priorities on the back burner,” Reddy said.
”This means that the total size of the population that will now be eligible for vaccination would be 84.19 crore out of the total population of 133.26 crore,” India Ratings and Research said a note.
Assuming two doses of vaccines at Rs 400 per dose for new vaccine procurement and 5 per cent wastage, the cost for the central government will come to Rs 62,103 crore for 155.4 crore doses, it said.
The total of the two comes to Rs 67,193 crore which ”works out to be just 0.36 per cent of GDP,” it noted.
The maximum impact is likely to be on Bihar (0.60 per cent of gross state domestic product or GSDP), followed by Uttar Pradesh (0.47 per cent), Jharkhand (0.37 per cent), Manipur (0.36 per cent), Assam (0.35 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (0.30 per cent) and Odisha (0.30 per cent).
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