The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 150 crore on Friday, with more than 1,64,98,400 beneficiaries in the age group of 15-18 years being given the first dose, according to the Union health ministry data.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the country will achieve the historical feat of administering 1.5 billion COVID vaccine doses in less than a year, on Friday.
Virtually inaugurating the second campus of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI) in West Bengal's Kolkata, PM Modi said, "The country had started the new year with the beginning of vaccination of the youth from 15 to 18 years age group. Today, in the first week of the first month of the year, the country is achieving the historical feat of administering 1.5 billion COVID vaccine doses in less than a year's time."
The Prime Minister further said that the feat is a symbol of the self-reliance of India. "It is a huge number in terms of statistics. It is not lesser than a surprise for most of the big countries of the world. But it is a symbol of the capability of the 130 crore citizens of India. It is a symbol of self-confidence and self-reliance," he said.
India surpassed the milestone of administering 100 crore COVID vaccine doses in October 2021.
The second campus of CNCI has been built at a cost of over Rs 530 crore, out of which around Rs 400 crores have been provided by the Union government and the rest by the West Bengal government, in the ratio of 75:25. The campus is a 460 bedded comprehensive cancer centre unit with cutting-edge infrastructure for cancer diagnosis, staging, treatment, and care.
The campus is equipped with modern facilities like Nuclear Medicine (PET), 3.0 Tesla MRI, 128 slice CT scanner, Radionuclide therapy unit, endoscopy suite, modern brachytherapy units, etc. The campus will also work as an advanced cancer research facility and will provide comprehensive care to cancer patients especially those from Eastern and North-Eastern parts of the country.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated in the first phase.
The vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) started from February 2.
The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.
The country launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1 last.
The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 to be vaccinated from May 1. The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from January 3 this year for adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years.