India overtakes US in administering Covid vaccines, says its health ministry

INDIA has overtaken the United States in administering Covid-19 vaccine doses, the country's health ministry said on Monday (28). After launching its vaccination drive on January 16, the country has administered over 323.6 million doses so far. The US, on the other hand, started its drive in December last year and has given 323.3 million doses till now.

“India achieves another milestone in COVID-19 vaccination and overtakes USA in total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered,” the ministry said. India's cumulative vaccination coverage exceeded 323 million on Sunday (27).

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A total of 3,233,663,297 vaccine doses have been administered through 4,321,898 sessions, as per the provision report till 7 am on Monday, according to the ministry. It said 1,721,268 shots were given in the last 24 hours. So far, 10,198,257 healthcare workers have taken the first dose while 7,207,617 have taken the second, the data added. Among the frontline workers, 17,442,767 have received the first dose while 9,399,319 have taken the second.

In the 18-44 group, 84,651,696 individuals have received the first jab while 1,901,190 have got the second. In the 45-59 age group, 87,111,445 have taken the first shot while 14,812,349 have taken the second. Among people aged 60 and above, 67,529,713 have received the first dose while 23,408,994 have received the second. The new phase of universalization of Covid-19 vaccination started from June 21.

However, the US, which is the worst-affected country in the world, has so far vaccinated 46 per cent of its population, in India, the number currently stands at only four per cent. India is the second-worst hit nation with 30.2 million positive cases as against the US’s 33.6 million.

Modi praises India's vaccination drive

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Monday noted that the country's vaccination drive "keeps gaining" momentum and that "vaccines for all, free for all" remains the government's commitment.

“India’s vaccination drive keeps gaining momentum! Congrats to all those who are driving this effort. Our commitment remains vaccines for all, free for all,” he said in a Twitter post.