Ranchi, the Jharkhand district with the highest number of Covid-19 cases, is also one of the poorest performers in terms of vaccination turnout, reveals data compiled by the National Health Mission (NHM).

By Saturday morning, the district had 263 active cases of Covid-19, which is more than 56 per cent of the total 467 cases in the state. On the other hand, Ranchi has achieved only 55 per cent of its vaccination target so far, which is only better than Dumka’s 51 per cent and lower than all the remaining 22 districts in the state.

Ranchi, however, has administered the first jab of Covishield vaccine to 32,507 people – the highest among districts in Jharkhand. But almost 30,000 registered beneficiaries in the state capital have given the first dose of the vaccine a miss. The number of defaulters in Ranchi was higher than the total number of registered beneficiaries in each of the remaining 23 districts in Jharkhand, NHM data reveals.

While officials say that efforts made by the district administration here to improve the vaccination turnout have shown results, the district was still lagging when compared to the pan-Jharkhand vaccination rate of 68 per cent. Ranchi deputy commissioner Chavi Ranjan had recently directed that beneficiaries opting out of the free vaccination will have to submit a declaration specifying that they have voluntarily opted out the immunization programme. The order was passed on February 9 when Ranchi had achieved only 26 per cent of its vaccination target.

“The turnout is improving in Ranchi. We are taking the necessary steps to encourage people not to miss the jab on the day they are called to the vaccination centre. Our teams are also in touch with beneficiaries who get the first jab to ensure that they get the second dose as well on time,” said Dr. Ajit Prasad, the immunization officer of Jharkhand.

On an average, Ranchi has accounted for more than half of the fresh Covid cases in the state every day in February. On Friday, the district reported 29 of the 51 cases in Jharkhand, and the fresh cases outnumbered recoveries here on the day.

As per government data, of the total 1,19,528 people infected by the lethal virus in Jharkhand, almost 33,000 were residents of Ranchi. The district has also reported 242 Covid fatalities, only second to East Singhbhum with 356 Covid deaths.