Over 1.89 bn Covid vaccine doses administered in India so far, says govt

The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India crossed 189 crore on Saturday, the Union Health Ministry said.

Over 23 lakh vaccine doses were administered on Saturday till 7 pm. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late at the night.

A total of 78,565 precaution doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered to those aged 18-59 years on Saturday till 7 pm.

The total number of precaution doses given in this age group has reached 7,47,648, according to Health Ministry data.

India began administering precaution doses of COVID-19 vaccines to all aged above 18 years at private vaccination centres on April 10. Those in this age group who have completed nine months after the second dose are eligible for the precaution dose.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. Vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2 last year.

The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced on March 1 last year for people over 60 years and those aged 45 and above with specified comorbid conditions.

India launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1 last year. The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 years of age to be inoculated against the viral disease from May 1 last year.

The next phase of vaccination commenced from January 3 for adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years.

India began administering precaution doses of vaccines to healthcare and frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities from January 10.

Inoculation of children aged 12-began on March 16.