NEW DELHI: India recorded a whopping 62% jump in vaccination numbers on Monday, jabbing nearly 81 lakh people against the 31-lakh figure it achieved on Sunday. Monday also marked the beginning of the Centre taking charge of providing free shots to all adults in government hospitals across the country. It opened the walk-in window to all eligible beneficiaries.
“Today’s record-breaking vaccination numbers are gladdening. The vaccine remains our strongest weapon to fight Covid-19. Congratulations to those who got vaccinated and kudos to all the front-line warriors working hard to ensure so many citizens got the vaccine. Well done India!” tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
As per its new policy, the Centre would procure 75% of vaccines and supply them to the states for free. Private hospitals, on the other hand, will continue procuring the remaining 25% vaccines and charging the beneficiaries. The vaccination drive has been ramped up by the increased availability of vaccines and streamlining of the supply chain. Besides, advance information on vaccine availability for June helped states plan effectively, the Centre claimed.
A dashboard maintained by the Centre on vaccination showed that the number of government vaccination centres increased by over 20,000 on Monday, while private vaccination centres remained around 2,000. As on Monday, there were 67,839 government hospitals offering vaccinations.The dashboard showed BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh leading the drive with nearly 15.5 lakh inoculations in a day. It was followed by Karnataka where about 11 lakh beneficiaries received the jabs.