News Analysis India

Tag: India COVID Vaccination

  • Over 88 crore Covid vaccine doses administered in India so far: Health Ministry

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 88 crore on Wednesday, the Union Health Ministry said.

    A total of 59,48,118 vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm.

    The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night, the ministry said.

    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 countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated in the first phase.

    The vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) started from February 2.

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

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

    The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 to be vaccinated from May 1.

  • India’s COVID vaccination mark nears 88 crore mark: Health Ministry

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 87.6 crore on Tuesday, the health ministry said.

    It said over 49 lakh vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm and the tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports by late in the 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 countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase.

    Vaccination of frontline workers started on February 2.

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

    Inoculation of all people aged over 45 years began on April 1.

    The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 to be vaccinated from May 1.

  • Opposition should introspect over their ‘irresponsible’ remarks about Covid vaccination drive: JP Nadda

    Over 2.5 crore people were vaccinated on Prime Minister Narendra Modi #39;s 71st birthday on September 17, setting a world record in vaccination.

  • ‘Will decide after public health goals are met’: India on exporting vaccines

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday said India would start exporting COVID-19 vaccines after its public health needs are met.

    Responding to a question at a press briefing, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said every country works with an aim of keeping its people, economy and social system safe.

    “Even the public health response to Covid is governed by those goals. So we will also try to achieve those goals and see when would be the right time to export vaccines,” he said.

    India stopped the export of Covid vaccines in mid-April.

    More than half of India’s adult population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 16 per cent have got both, the Union government said on Thursday as the cumulative number of doses administered in the country crossed 67 crore.

    In Sikkim, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Himachal Pradesh all the adult population have got at least one dose of vaccine, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said at a press conference.

    About ramping up of daily vaccinations, he said 18.38 crore doses were given in August during which 59.29 lakh doses were administered daily.

    The average daily vaccination in the last seven days of August has been 80.27 lakh.

    “That’s a huge achievement and would not have been possible without very effective and optimal participation of all healthcare workers, state governments and Union Territory administrations,” Bhushan said.

    On both August 27 and 31 more than one crore vaccinations took place.

    According to data shared at the press conference, the number of vaccine doses administered daily has increased from 19.69 lakh in May to 39.89 lakh in June and further to 43.41 lakh in July.

    In Sikkim, 36 per cent of the eligible population have been administered the second dose, in Dadra and Nagar Haveli it is 18 per cent and in Himachal Pradesh it’s 32 per cent.

    Besides, in Tripura, Ladakh, Daman and Diu, the Lakshwadeep and Mizoram, over 85 per cent of the population have been administered the first dose.

    Bhushan said that 99 per cent of the healthcare workers have received the first dose of vaccine while 84 per cent of the eligible healthcare workers have taken the second dose.

    He said 100 per cent of the frontline workers have been administered the first dose while 80 per cent of them have been given the second dose.

    “Besides, 16 per cent of India’s adult population have been fully vaccinated which means they have received both the doses of COVID-19 vaccine while 54 per cent have been administered at least one dose,” the Union health secretary said.

    NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul urged people who have not got vaccinated yet to take the jabs.

    The message of vaccination must be taken to the heartland of India, he said, adding, “No one should be left behind. Vaccine availability is increasing and we must use this opportunity to push back this pandemic.”

    In view of the upcoming festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi, Eid, Navratri, Paul urged people to celebrate at home with family and not venture out unnecessarily.

    “Whatever stabilisation we are seeing can be lost and the X factor here is the behaviour of viruses. If a virus mutates then the whole system will shake as we have seen in the second surge.”

    “We would like to request people that during festivals they should wear masks, maintain social distancing, not crowd, and embrace vaccination. We request people who have not got vaccinated yet to get the shots,” he said.

    Paul further underlined that vaccination programmes among pregnant women must be accelerated while stating it is being seen that many people have not got vaccinated.

    Vaccination is important for pregnant women and their baby otherwise, the risk of complications rises.

    The more pregnant women can get vaccinated the better, he stressed.

    Paul also emphasised the need for taking the second dose.

    “For complete protection, the second dose is important. The level of protection one gets after the second dose is much higher than the one after the first. The complete guarantee that one gets is after the second dose.”

    “The government is making its efforts but if your second dose is due please get it because then only you are more protected and it becomes difficult for the virus to transmit through you,” he added.

  • UNICEF to provide India with 160 million syringes for vaccination against COVID-19

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: UNICEF India has signed a USD 15 million agreement with COVID-19 relief initiative Crypto Relief to procure an estimated 160 million syringes to support India in its inoculation drive, according to a statement.

    Under the agreement, UNICEF India will procure re-use prevention (RUP) syringes from manufacturers across the world through a global tendering process.

    To maintain quality, only WHO pre-qualified manufacturers will be asked to participate in the tender.

    Based on the global tender results, UNICEF will place orders with eligible bidders across the globe.

    The syringes are expected to be delivered between September 2021 and January 2022, the UN body said in the statement.

    “India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive is one of the largest in the world aiming to vaccinate over 994 million people above the age of 18 years. In this massive endeavour, as many syringes as vaccines are required to keep up the fight to contain the pandemic,” said Dr Yasmin Haque, UNICEF India Representative.

    “We are bringing UNICEF’s expertise in procuring and delivering syringes to support India to fast-track vaccinations. Containing the pandemic will also help prevent the disruptions children are facing in education, in accessing health, routine immunization and nutrition services, along with ensuring safety and protection concerns,” she added.

  • Over 58 crore Covid vaccine doses administered, Maharashtra inoculates over 10.96 lakh people in day

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has gone past 58 crore, the Union health ministry said on Saturday.

    More than 43 lakh vaccine doses were administered on Saturday, according to a provisional report compiled at 7 pm.

    The ministry said 20,88,547 beneficiaries in the age group of 18-44 years received the first dose and 7,36,870 were administered the second dose of the vaccine on Saturday.

    Cumulatively, 21,60,58,123 people in the said age group have received the first dose and 1,92,54,925 have been administered the second dose of the vaccine since the start of the third phase of the vaccination drive across the states and Union territories.

    On the 218th day (August 21) of the inoculation drive, a total of 43,92,759 vaccine doses were given — 27,77,409 beneficiaries received the first dose and 16,15,350 got the second dose — according to the provisional report.

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

    The Maharashtra government on Saturday claimed to have set a new record by inoculating over 10.96 lakh people against COVID-19 in a single day.

    “The state achieved this feat with the network of 5,200 vaccination centres where 10,96,493 doses were given. This figure could go up as vaccination was going on at some centres till late evening,” the state public health ministry said in a statement.

    Maharashtra Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope said the state government was insisting on supplying higher number of vials for a long time so that we can “increase the pace of immunisation against COVID-19”.

    “Today, we proved our claim of having installed the capacity of inoculating more than 10 lakh people in a day,” he stated.

    The Maharashtra government on July 3 vaccinated 8.

    11 lakh people while 9,64,460 doses were administered on August 14, said Dr Pradeep Vyas, Additional Chief Secretary, Public Health Department.

    Maharashtra on Saturday reported 4,575 new coronavirus cases and 145 deaths, which raised the tally to 64,20,510 and the toll to 1,35,817, a health official said.

  • India has administered more than 56.57 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses: Centre

    Over 48 lakh (48,81,588) doses have been administered on Wednesday as per the 7 pm provisional report.

  • Cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses in country cross 55 crore: Government

    The Health Ministry also said 31,44,650 first doses and 5,22,629 second doses were administered in the 18-44 age group on Monday.

  • India to not be vaccinated by end of this year, cocktail vaccines not advisable: Cyrus Poonawalla, SII

    Express News Service

    Cyrus Poonawalla, Managing Director of Serum Institute of India said that by end of this year, it is highly impossible to vaccinate the entire Indian population in view of productions of vaccines. Poonawalla also warned mixing of two vaccines and administering them may have side effects in future.

    While receiving the Lokmanya Tilak award in Pune, Cyrus Poonawalla said that the politicians who are claiming that all of India will be vaccinated is a complete white lie.

    He said that the Serum Institute of India has been producing 10 to 12 crore of vaccines doses per month while another firm has one crore doses. SII is the largest vaccines producer in the world.

    “Annually, the rough calculations is around 120-130 crore doses, so these numbers of doses are not enough to vaccinate the entire population of India. We should not believe those who are lying about vaccinations by end of this year,” Poonawalla said candidly.

    He said that SII has lowered down the productions of other vaccines and focusing on Covishied vaccines only. “Despite that, we are able to produce 10 to 12 crore vaccine doses per month. We are the only company that has been producing the highest number of doses across the world,” Poonawalla claimed.

    He also warned about mixing or cocktailing the two vaccines. “I am against that decision of mixing two vaccines and giving to people. The cocktail doses may have side effects in the future. If one vaccine is working properly, then why unnecessary we are mixing them. If something happens, then vaccines firms will blame each other. We should not jeopardize people’s life,” Poonawalla said adding in pretrial also, this mixing was not advised.

    He also said that after taking the two doses, people can take the third dose after six months of the second dose as a booster dose.

    “It has been observed that the antibodies are being reduced after six months of vaccinations. Therefore, it is my kind suggestion that people can take the third dose as a booster dose. I myself and all 7000 employees of SII have taken the third dose of vaccines. The government may also advise over it,” he said.

    He added that there should be two months gap between two doses, not three or four. “If the person is infected with Covid, then they can delay in vaccinations. In normal cases, it should not be done. The government was facing a shortage of vaccines therefore they increased the gap period between two doses,” Poonawalla said.

    He also said that the lockdown is not the solution.

    “The death rate is very low so we should open the economy one by one. And at the same time, vaccinate people. Besides, there will be herd immunity. I think there will be a third wave in India because the herd immunity has been increasing in India,” Poonawalla said.

    Poonawalla said that the central government should lift the ban on the export of vaccines.

    “My son strictly warned me not to speak over this issue. But we are facing huge losses in profit. We had an international commitment. Even internal firms like Bill Gates foundation has given Rs 5000 crore in advances to give vaccines, but we failed to meet their demand and fulfill the agreement. We want to return back their money, but they are not taking, they want vaccines,” he added.

  • COVID-19: 38,353 new infections in last 24 hours, active cases lowest in 140 days as vaccination tally nears 52 core mark

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India saw a single day rise of 38,353 coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,20,36,511, while the active cases have declined to 3,86,351, the lowest in 140 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

    The death toll has climbed to 4,29,179 with 497 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

    The active cases comprise 1.21 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate stands 97.45 per cent, the ministry said.

    A decrease of 2,157 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

    It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

    The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has reached nearly 52 crore, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday.

    More than 37 lakh (37,76,765) doses have been administered during the day, according to the 7 pm provisional report.

    The ministry said 20,47,733 first doses were administered and 4,05,719 second doses in the age group 18-44 years on Tuesday.

    According to the Union Health Ministry, India recorded 38,353 new #COVID19 cases in the last 24 hours. The recovery rate rises to 97.45%.Express Photo | @sooraj_TNIE pic.twitter.com/vs1FXm9BpQ
    — The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) August 11, 2021
    Cumulatively, 18,20,95,467 people in the age group 18-44 years across states and union territories have received their first dose and 1,29,39,239 their second dose since the start of phase-3 of the vaccination drive.

    Five states — Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh — have administered more than 1 crore cumulative doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the age group 18-44 years, the ministry said.

    Also, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have vaccinated more than 10 lakh beneficiaries of the age group 18-44 years for the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

    As on day-207 of the vaccination drive (August 10), total 37,76,765 vaccine doses were given.

    Of these, 27,60,199 beneficiaries were vaccinated for first dose and 10,16,566 people received the second dose of vaccine according to the provisional report till 7 PM.

    Final reports would be completed for the day 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 statement said.

    More than 2.07 crore balance and unutilised COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with the states, UTs and private hospitals to be administered, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

    Over 52.56 crore vaccine doses have been provided to states and UTs so far through all sources and a further 48,43,100 doses are in the pipeline.

    Of this, the total consumption including wastage is 51,09,58,562 doses, the ministry said.

    Under the new phase of the universalization of the COVID-19 vaccination drive, the Centre procures and supplies 75 per cent of the vaccines being produced by vaccine manufacturers in the country to states and UTs.