India's vaccination coverage crosses 50-cr mark

The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has surpassed 50 crore with more than 43.29 lakh doses given on Friday, the Union health ministry said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India's fight against coronavirus has received a strong impetus.

"India's fight against COVID-19 receives a strong impetus. Vaccination numbers cross the 50 crore mark. We hope to build on these numbers and ensure our citizens are vaccinated under #SabkoVaccineMuftVaccine movement," Modi tweeted.

"India soars high on #COVID19 vaccination, historic record of 50 crore doses administered to date!" Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a tweet.

Elaborating on the increasing pace of vaccination, he said the country took 85 days to touch the figure of 10 crore. It then took 45 days to cross the 20-crore mark and 29 more days to reach 30 crore. India took another 24 days to reach 40 crore and 20 more days to cross 50 crore vaccinations.

"In a significant achievement, India's cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed the 50-crore landmark milestone (50,03,48,866)," the health ministry said.

More than 43.29 lakh (43,29,673) doses were administered on Friday, according to a provisional report complied at 7 pm.

The ministry said 22,93,781 beneficiaries in the age group of 18-44 years were administered the first dose, while 4,32,281 received the second dose of the vaccine on Friday.

Cumulatively, 17,23,20,394 people in the said age group have received the first dose and 1,12,56,317 have received the second dose of the vaccine across all states and Union territories since the start of the third phase of the vaccination drive.

Five states -- Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh -- have administered more than one crore cumulative doses of the COVID-19 vaccine each to beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group, the ministry said.

Also, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have administered the first dose of the vaccine to more than 10 lakh beneficiaries each in the 18-44 age group.

On the 203rd day of the vaccination drive (August 6), a total of 43,29,673 vaccine doses were given -- 32,10,613 beneficiaries vaccinated for the first dose and 11,19,060 for the second dose -- according to the provisional report.

The final report for the would be compiled by late night.

The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, the ministry underlined.

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

The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 for those over 60 years of age and people aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.

The country launched vaccination for all people aged above 45 years from April 1.

The government then decided to expand the vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 years of age to be vaccinated from May 1.