India achieves landmark 100 crore Covid vaccine administration
India achieved 100 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses landmark on Thursday. India completed administering 1 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines, as per the Cowin portal at 9:47 am today.
India had begun rolling out the COVID-19 vaccines Covishield from the Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin on January 16, 2021.
It is the second largest vaccination drive in the world. China reached the one billion mark in June.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and interacted with hospital officials. Saying that India scripted history, PM Modi tweeted, “We are witnessing the triumph of Indian science, enterprise and collective spirit of 130 crore Indians. Congrats India on crossing 100 crore vaccinations. Gratitude to our doctors, nurses and all those who worked to achieve this feat.”
Today, when India has achieved a #VaccineCentury, I went to a vaccination centre at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. The vaccine has brought pride and protection in the lives of our citizens. pic.twitter.com/MUObjQKpga
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 21, 2021
The top five states that have administered the highest number of vaccine doses are Uttar Pradesh, followed by Maharashtra, West Bengal, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
I think it’s absolutely significant that India has achieved 1 billion doses target. I want to congratulate the govt, PM Modi, Health Minister, my colleague the Commerce Minister, everyone. This is a huge achievement in very short period of time, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of World Trade Organization said, ANI reported.
Dr VK Paul of NITI Aayog said it was remarkable to reach the 100 crore dose mark for any nation “in just over nine months since the vaccination programme started in India”.
In a tweet, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya congratulated the country on achieving the feat, and said it was the result of the able leadership of Prime Minister Modi.
Congratulating India on achieving the milestone, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director of WHO South-East Asia, said, “This extraordinary feat in a short span was not possible without strong political leadership, intersectoral convergence, dedicated efforts of the entire health and frontline workforce and the people themselves.”
Congratulations #India 🇮🇳 for crossing 1 billion #COVID19 vaccine doses milestone.@MoHFW_INDIA @PIB_India @ANI pic.twitter.com/nQkaidVzvU
— World Health Organization South-East Asia (@WHOSEARO) October 21, 2021
To mark the milestone of the Covid-19 vaccination exercise, a series of events have been lined up. Mandaviya will launch a song by singer Kailash Kher and an audio-visual film at the Red Fort. The largest khadi tricolor in the country, weighing around 1,400 kg, will be displayed at the Red Fort, PTI reported.
According to Union Health Ministry data, India took 86 days to touch the 10-crore vaccination mark, 45 more days to cross the 20-crore mark and 29 more days to reach the 30-crore mark.
The country took 24 days to reach the 40-crore mark from 30-crore doses and then 20 more days to surpass the 50-crore vaccination mark on August 6. It then took 76 more days to go past the 100-crore mark.
