India vaccinated 97% of children in 2025, said a World Health Organisation-Unicef report released on July 15. But according to the sixth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) , the full childhood immunisation rate in the country is between 82.6 and 87.1%, depending on which of the two vaccination indicators are chosen. The NFHS-6 report was released last month. The figures presented by WHO and Unicef are not based on primary data collection, as has always been the case. The source of this data is what the government of India has provided to them for the year 2025. This is known as ‘administrative data’. The government collects pan-India ‘administrative’ immunisation data through what the state immunisation officers feed into the system. The immunisation programme is fully run by the government of India. But apart from this method, there is another survey conducted by the government, which is independent of what the state programme officers report. The NFHS-6, which pegged that less than 90% of children were covered by the vaccination programme, was conducted for 2023-24 time period. Health economist, Indranil, who also teaches at OP Jindal university said the NFHS is considered more reliable because it is a survey conducted on the ground, indicating that it would therefore be primary data. “On the other hand, the government immunisation coverage data [‘administrative data’] is on the basis of reporting by field workers and officials in monthly progress reports. These numbers are not corroborated with field reality. These government numbers feed the WHO-Unicef report. So the Unicef numbers are what the government is reporting, while the NFHS number represents field reality better,” Indranil added.The difference between NFHS and WHO reports is visible not just for overall vaccination rates but for three individual vaccine categories.Rotavirus vaccine is administered to prevent diarrhoea outbreaks. The WHO report says the coverage for this vaccine was 91% while the NFHS said it was 85.4%.Similarly for the first dose of measles vaccine, the coverage was 98% according to the WHO report, while it was 91.7% according to NFHS.The coverage for the second dose of measles vaccine was 95% according to the global report as against 71.8% reported in NFHS-6.As many as 95% children were given polio vaccine according to the WHO report, while the NFHS-6 pegged this number at 85% only. Zero dose childrenIndia has reduced the number of children who did not get any doses of vaccines in 2025 as compared to 2024, per the WHO and Unicef report released July 15, 2026.As many as 6.7 lakh children did not get any vaccines which are part of India’s childhood immunisation programme. This number was 16 lakh as per last year’s report. In terms of proportion, 5% of children in India were ‘zero-dose’ children in 2025. Thus, India is third after Nigeria (16%) and Democratic Republic of Congo (6%) in this list. Last year, India was in second place after Nigeria.Though India ranks third, there is an important caveat to this number which the report highlights. “In 2025, India accounted for 696,000 zero-dose children (5% of the global total) despite achieving 97% coverage for a cohort of 22.6 million surviving infants,” the report states. In other words, the fact that the highest number of children were born in India has a role to play. So despite the fact that 97% of the children were vaccinated, 6.7 lakh were still left out.Globally, more than half of zero-dose children are concentrated in nine countries: Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, India, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Angola, per the report.The infants who are labelled zero-dose children are decided on a proxy indicator – the first dose of DPT (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus) vaccine which is given at least six months after birth.Experts believe that this interpretation of zero-dose must be dealt with cautiously because the children born in hospitals may have received the vaccines which are administered right after birth, like the BCG vaccine for tuberculosis, and may not be zero-dose children in the very literal sense of the term.The rationale behind using this indicator is that the mother has to come back to a health facility six weeks after the birth of the child to give it the first dose of DPT. So while the vaccines given right after birth would be given in the facility, the challenge is in ensuring that a mother returns to the health facility or that a system tracks the mother and child in the long term.Most of the other vaccines which follow immediate immunisation after birth require the mother to visit the health facility or dedicated follow-up by healthcare workers working on the ground.Measles and polio vaccines are important, especially, in this regard.Hits and missesIndia has also recovered from the backsliding in the immunisation numbers and the losses incurred in the COVID-19 period. Childhood immunisation had shrunk all across the world at that time. But one of the major challenges in the immunisation programme of India is the difference at the sub-national level, said an expert who is a member of two immunisation committees constituted by the government of India.This state-wise variation difference is clearly reflected in the NFHS-6.The overall immunisation rate is high but the variation among the states is stark. For example in Nagaland it was 68.2%, which is the lowest in the country. The state which achieved highest immunisation rate is Odisha (89.6%)The state-wise figures are as follows:Another challenge with computation of any estimates is the grey denominator. India had its last census in 2011 and those numbers still form the baseline for many such estimates, the immunisation committees’ members said. The latest census is ongoing in the country.India’s immunisation programme is the biggest in the world. India has achieved more than 90% coverage in nearly all vaccination categories, thanks to efforts of the successive governments. The country continues to outperform many countries in the global North as far as overall immunisation performance is concerned. India’s overall performance for various vaccination categories ranged from 70% to 98%. The vaccination-wise coverage is as follows: The vaccination programme has averted millions of deaths due to preventable diseases across the world, including India. Not only has life span gone up, it has also resulted in economic benefits. According to a Lancet assessment, India had net benefits of $ 841·07 billion from 1974 to 2004 by averting deaths and reducing productivity losses. Globally, in high and middle income countries, vaccine hesitancy and weakening political commitment are eroding gains that access alone once secured, states the WHO. In the conflict-ridden countries, the immunisation programme is one of the biggest casualties due to ongoing disturbances. Banjot Kaur is an independent health journalist.