NEW DELHI: Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director of World Health Organization South-East Asia on Thursday congratulated India for administering one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses in the country.
"Huge congratulations to India for marking yet another milestone, a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses administered," she said in a video address.
Speaking further Singh said, "The extraordinary feat in a short span was not possible without strong political leadership, inter-sectoral convergence, dedicated efforts of the entire health and frontline workforce. India's progress must be viewed in the context of the country's commendable commitment and efforts to ensure these life savings vaccines are accessible globally."
In a landmark achievement, India's cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage crossed 100 crore doses on Thursday. A total of 100 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far to eligible beneficiaries, as per the CoWIN portal at 9:47 am today.
India's COVID-19 vaccination drive was launched on January 16, 2021. Initially, the vaccination was opened for Health Care Workers (HCWs) only. From February 2, frontline workers were made eligible for vaccination.
These included state and Central Police personnel, Armed Force Personnel, Home Guards, Civil Defence and Disaster Management Volunteers, Municipal workers, Prison Staff, PRI Staff and Revenue workers involved in containment and surveillance, Railway Protection Force and election Staff.
The vaccination drive was expanded from March 1 to include persons above 60 years of age and those above 45 years with associated specified 20 comorbidities. It was further expanded to all people above 45 years of age from April 1. From May 1 all persons above 18 years of age were made eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.