Over 510 mn Covid vaccine doses administered in India so far, says govt

The cumulative number COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed the 51 crore-mark, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday.

India took 85 days to touch the figure of 10 crore. It then took 45 days to cross the 20 crore-mark, 29 days more to reach 30 crore. The country took 24 days to reach 40 crore from 30 crore and then 20 more days to cross 50 crore vaccinations on August 6. In less than three days, one crore vaccine doses were administered in the country.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated and vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) started from February 2.

The next phase of Covid vaccination commenced from March 1 for those over 60 years of age and for people aged 45 and above with specific comorbid conditions.

India launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 from April 1. The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 eligible to be vaccinated from May 1.