More than 16 lakh (16,54,073) vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm on Tuesday, the ministry said.
The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 180.58 crore on Tuesday, according to the Union health ministry. More than 16 lakh (16,54,073) vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm on Tuesday, the ministry said. It said more than 2.14 crore (2,14,59,117) precaution doses for the identified categories of beneficiaries (healthcare workers, frontline workers and those aged over 60 years) have so far been administered.
The daily vaccination tally is expected to go up with the compilation of the final reports by late night, it added. A total of 55,35,47,330 first doses and 45,72,97,088 second doses of the Covid vaccines have been administered to individuals in the 18-44 age group across the states and Union territories since the start of the third phase of the vaccination drive, according to the ministry's data.
The ministry further said that cumulatively, 96,75,78,087 first doses and 81,67,93,298 second doses of the vaccines have been administered. India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 180.58 crore (180,58,30,502), it said. In the 15-18 age group, 5,60,32,467 first doses and 3,46,87,314 second doses have been administered.
More than 2,14,59,117 precaution doses have been administered to the identified categories of beneficiaries. The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with the healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of the frontline workers (FLWs) started from February 2 last year. The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 last year for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions. The country 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 Covid vaccination commenced from January 3 this year for adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years. India began administering precaution doses of the vaccines to the HCWs, the FLWs, including the personnel deployed on election duty, and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities from January 10 this year amid a spike in the number of coronavirus cases, fuelled by its Omicron variant.
With PTI Inputs