Focus on 2nd dose as India nears 100 crore vax landmark

India’s Covid-19 cumulative vaccination coverage on Tuesday crossed 99 crore. This includes more than 70 crore people who have been administered the first dose and 28.9 crore who have received the second dose.

  • Updated On Oct 20, 2021 at 07:26 AM IST
Read by: 100 Industry Professionals
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NEW DELHI: India’s Covid-19 cumulative vaccination coverage on Tuesday crossed 99 crore. This includes more than 70 crore people who have been administered the first dose and 28.9 crore who have received the second dose.

As India got closer to the one billion mark, the health ministry urged state governments to step up the vaccination drive and also focus on second dose coverage as a sizeable number of people eligible for the second shot have not got it yet.

As cumulative doses administered crossed 99.08 crore on Tuesday evening, the government described it as a “milestone”. Highlighting the vaccination count, health minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted saying, “Go for it India, continue to rapidly march towards our milestone of 100 crore #Covid vaccinations.”

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In the 18-44 years category, 39.7 crore have got their first shot, and the figure is 11.5 crore for the second dose.

Over 16.8 crore people have received their first shot in the 45-59 years age group. In this age bracket, around 8.7 crore have got the second shot. In case of senior citizens over 10.6 crore have got the first dose and over 6.2 crore have taken the second shot.

Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan, in a review meeting on Monday, congratulated states/UTs on their effort to vaccinate all citizens and underlined the need to push for full vaccine coverage.

The ministry has asked states and UTs to identify and prioritise districts having low coverage for focused action and explore requirement for mobilisation efforts, addressing local challenges, need for additional Covid vaccination centres and improving access in rural areas. States have also been asked to share their strategy to enhance second dose coverage. The ministry also sought suggestions in formulating new norms for international travel.
  • Published On Oct 20, 2021 at 07:23 AM IST
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