Covid-19 jabs cross 22-million mark on PM Narendra Modi's birthday

India gave more than 22 million Covid vaccine doses in a single day on Friday, setting a new record for daily vaccinations in the country. The milestone was achieved on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya described the achievement as a birthday gift on behalf of health workers and citizens to Modi. 

Mandaviya raised his fists in the air and said, “We did it.” He was visiting the Covid vaccination site at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital where he distributed sweets to health workers and other staff and congratulated them on the landmark vaccination. 

Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states including Bihar, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat gave maximum jabs.

The significant jump in the daily vaccination numbers, which had so far crossed the 10-million mark on a few occasions, has also improved India’s overall inoculation coverage. The CoWIN website too highlighted a tracker showing the real time vaccine administration. 

The share of fully vaccinated people among the eligible population now stands at 21 per cent, up from 20 per cent a day earlier. Around 63 per cent of the population above 18 years has received a single dose so far.

Business Standard’s analysis showed that of the 20 million doses on Friday, nearly 40 per cent were second and remaining 60 per cent were first doses. The average daily vaccinations are also up for the month of September to more than 8 million daily doses. This number was just about 6 million average daily doses per day in August.

The government has urged people to ensure that they are fully vaccinated, especially ahead of the upcoming festive season. While India’s weekly test positivity rate is at 1.97 per cent, the daily positivity rate as on Friday morning was higher at 2.25 per cent. 

Thirty-two districts in India are still reporting a weekly positivity rate between five and ten per cent and 34 districts are reporting more than 10 per cent weekly positivity. 

So far ten states in India including Kerala which is contributing highest to the active caseload of the country, have vaccinated more than 85 per cent of their eligible population with a single dose of Covid vaccine.