India’s Covid-19 Vaccination Reaches Milestone As India Administers Over 1.9 Cr Doses In a Day

As India began its vaccination drive 228 days ago on 16 January, it administered 6654 million vaccine doses overall by 31 August. 

India sets a new record of administering over 1 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses across the country in a day, while other countries are in deep concern at the slow pace of the COVID-19 vaccine. The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Mansukh Mandaviya, tweeted, “India is setting a new milestone” as 1.09 crore vaccine doses were administered till 6 P.M. on Tuesday. 

In total, over 65 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far in the country. 

Earlier in this month, India had achieved the one-crore doses milestone for the first time on August 27. In his tweet on Tuesday, the Health Minister mentioned- “Congratulations, as India administers another one crore COVID-19 vaccination today. Highest single-day record of 1.09 crore vaccine doses achieved till 6 P.M and still counting”. 

The Union Health Ministry reported on Tuesday that more than 64.36 (actually 64,36,13,160) crore vaccine doses had been provided to States and Union Territories through the Central Government’s free-of-cost channel and direct state procurement category. 

He added that nearly 15 lakh doses are in the pipeline and more than 5.42 crore are left unutilized that are still available with the State and Union Territories. 

A statement released by the WHO on Tuesday in which Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Former Co-chair of the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPPR), and Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand have expressed their concern over the slow pace of distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccine doses. 

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As per the reports, India is doing far better, in terms of COVID-19 vaccination, than other high-income countries despite being the second most populated country in the world. This vaccination drive perhaps helps India in the expected third wave of Coronavirus which can hit the country in September. It is expected that India can face nearly 4 lakh COVID-19 cases per day in September. Taking this into account, the Government has boosted up the vaccination drive and is also working to strengthen healthcare infrastructure. 

The rise in COVID-19 vaccination dose is one great step in the prevention of the third wave.

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