Data | COVID-19 cases surge in rural India even as vaccination rates are lower than urban areas

Though the rural population has received relatively fewer doses in every State, the disparities were more pronounced in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh

While the second wave of COVID-19 cases in India is on the wane, has started to increase. However, this rural surge was not uniform across all States and is more pronounced in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. The rural-urban asymmetry also exists in vaccination coverage, with the rural population having relatively lower numbers for vaccinations in each State analysed. Though rural infrastructure to administer vaccines is in place, the supply of doses is still skewed towards urban areas. The analysis is restricted to States where relevant data were available. The rise in rural cases was more pronounced in U.P., Rajasthan and Maharashtra.