India achieves crosses 100-crore vaccine milestone
India achieved a major milestone in its vaccination programme against COVID-19 as the cumulative vaccine doses administered in the country surpassed the 100-crore mark on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the landmark reached in a little over nine months’ time since the countrywide vaccination drive was launched on January 16 as a triumph of Indian science, enterprise, and collective spirit of 130 crores. Prime Minister Modi Tweeted that India scripts history:
India scripts history.
We are witnessing the triumph of Indian science, enterprise and collective spirit of 130 crore Indians.
Congrats India on crossing 100 crore vaccinations. Gratitude to our doctors, nurses and all those who worked to achieve this feat. #VaccineCentury
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 21, 2021
Prime Minister also visited the vaccination center at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital here after the achievement and interacted with hospital staff and some of the beneficiaries. He was accompanied by Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus congratulated Modi, scientists, health workers, and citizens of India for equitable vaccine distribution.
“Congratulations, Prime Minister @narendramodi, the scientists, #healthworkers and people of #India, on your efforts to protect the vulnerable populations from #COVID-19 and achieve #VaccinEquity targets,” he said in a tweet.
Congratulating the country on the vaccination landmark, Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO, South-East Asia, said it was not possible without strong political leadership. “Huge congratulations to India for marking yet another milestone – a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses administered. This extraordinary feat in a short span was not possible without strong leadership, inter-sectoral convergence, dedicated efforts of the entire health and frontline workforce and the people themselves,” she said.
India’s progress must be viewed in the context of the country’s commendable commitment and efforts to ensure that these life-saving vaccines are accessible globally, she said. According to Health Ministry, over 75 percent of India’s eligible adult population has been administered at least the first dose and over 31 percent has received both doses of the vaccine.
So far, all adult people in nine States and Union Territories — Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Dadra, and Nagar Haveli — have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The top five States which have administered the highest number of doses are Uttar Pradesh followed by Maharashtra, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.
The UNICEF India also congratulated India on reaching the milestone while welcoming strides that India has made in recent months to ramp up vaccinations. “This is a tremendous achievement, given the logistical complexity of administering 1 billion doses in less than a year, in a country as vast and diverse as India. As Indian families recover from the recent devastating COVID-19 wave, for many this milestone means hope,” UNICEF India said.
India took 85 days to touch the 10-crore vaccination mark, 45 more days to cross the 20-crore mark and 29 more days to reach the 30-crore mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The country took 24 days to reach the 40-crore mark from 30-crore doses and then 20 more days to surpass the 50-crore vaccination mark on August 6. It then took 76 days to go past the 100-crore mark.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with health care workers getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers started on 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 over 45 years from April 1. The Government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing all above 18 to be vaccinated from May 1.
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