COVID-19: India vaccinates record 75 lakh people in a day
More than 75 lakh coronavirus vaccine doses were administered across India until 6 pm today, the highest-ever one-day coverage in the country so far, News18 and NDTV reported. India achieved this milestone on a day the country has kicked off a fresh vaccination policy, under which free jabs are being provided to all adults. India has now administered over 28 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses.
According to the data from the Union Health Ministry, states such as Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Haryana made significant contributions to today's record. Madhya Pradesh inoculated 12 lakh people, Karnataka vaccinated 8.73 lakh, while UP administered 5.84 lakh doses on Monday, reported News18. India's previous single-day vaccination record was of 42 lakh doses, administered on April 2.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the central government was taking back control of the vaccination drive. He said that 75% of all the vaccines would be procured by the Centre and provided to states free of cost. Private hospitals would continue to procure the remaining 25%. The Centre's previous vaccination policy had been criticized for several flaws, including differential pricing.
India plans to administer more than 50 lakh doses daily, starting today, with several states coming up with ambitious vaccination goals. The Assam government has set a target of inoculating three lakh people daily for the next 10 days. UP and Karnataka are also planning to administer seven lakh doses daily, from today. On Sunday, Andhra Pradesh had administered more than 13 lakh doses.
India currently has three approved coronavirus vaccines - the indigenously-developed COVAXIN, Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield, and Russia's Sputnik V. More than 28 crore vaccine doses have been administered in India and nearly 17% of the population has received at least one shot. However, less than 4% Indians are fully vaccinated as yet. The government aims to inoculate all Indian adults by the end of this year.
India faced the world's worst coronavirus outbreak earlier this year, with daily cases peaking at 4,14,000 last month. The situation has since improved. In the past 24 hours, the country reported 53,256 new COVID-19 infections - the lowest daily surge in 88 days. 1,422 deaths were also recorded during the same period. India's positivity rate stands at 3.83%.
However, a third wave of COVID-19 could hit India within the next eight weeks, AIIMS chief Dr. Randeep Guleria has warned. The vitality of the new wave, however, would depend upon the vaccination coverage and the level of adherence to COVID-19 protocols, he said. Many Indian states have notably begun a reopening process after lengthy lockdowns over the second wave.
