NEW DELHI: India on Sunday achieved a significant milestone in its vaccination programme against Covid-19 as the cumulative vaccine doses administered in the country crossed the 200-crore mark, just 18 months after the vaccination drive started in the country. The drive has started on January 6 last year.
It took India 278 days to cross the first milestone of 100 crore doses on October 21, 2021. But, the country achieved the 200 crore milestone in a slightly shorter period of 269 days. It had crossed 150 crore doses on January 7 this year.
In a series of tweets, elated Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “India creates history again! Congrats to all Indians on crossing the special figure of 200 crore vaccine doses. Proud of those who contributed to making India’s vaccination drive unparalleled in scale and speed. This has strengthened the global fight against Covid-19.”
Similalrly, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya took to Twitter to convey the sense of achievement of his government. “17th July 2022, a day to remember forever. #200CroreVaccinations,” he tweeted, with a broadcast of the CoWIN portal dashboard showing the number of doses crossing the 200-crore mark.
India crossed the 200-crore mark with over 25.2 lakh doses administered on Saturday and completed the feat with 1.3 lakh doses on Sunday morning, said ministry officials.
As per ministry data, about 98% of the adult population has received at least one dose, while 90% have been fully vaccinated as per the union health ministry data. The data showed that 82% of adolescents aged 15 to 18 years have also been vaccinated with the first dose since the vaccination for this age group began on January 3, while 68% have got both the first and second dose.
Fast fight against virus
It took India 278 days to cross the first milestone of 100 crore doses on October 21, 2021. But the country achieved the 200 crore milestone in a slightly shorter period of 269 days.