COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker: 16 lakh doses administered in India on May 22

Two doses from either the Oxford-AstraZeneca or the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are over 80 percent effective in preventing infection from the B1.617.2 variant of coronavirus, first discovered in India, a new UK government study has reportedly found (Representative image)

More than 16.04 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered in India on May 22, the Union Health Ministry's latest provisional report suggested. With that, the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country reached 19.5 crore.

On the 127th day of the vaccination drive (May 22), 14.22 lakh beneficiaries received their first shot and 1.81 lakh people were given their second dose.

The government has revised the gap between the two doses for the Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield, being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, to 12-16 weeks. However, the interval for the second dose of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin remains unchanged.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the nationwide vaccination drive on January 16, with healthcare workers at the frontline of India's COVID-19 battle getting their first jabs. The country began the second phase of the vaccination drive from March 1 in which everyone above 60 years of age and those over 45 years with comorbidities could start getting the vaccine.

From April 1, vaccination was opened for everyone above the age of 45 with or without comorbidities.

India rolled out the third phase of its COVID-19 vaccination drive for those in the 18-44 age group on May 1. The central government has liberalised the vaccination drive to allow states, private hospitals and industrial establishments to procure the doses directly from manufacturers.

Registration on CoWIN platform for the third phase began on April 28 and is mandatory for the 18-44 age group.

Here are key developments related to the COVID-19 vaccination process:

> The inoculation drive for the 18-44 age group came to a halt in Delhi on May 22 due to a shortage of vaccines, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying it will take 30 months to vaccinate people in this category in the national capital if the supply shortage continues.

> The Union Health Ministry announced that family members and dependants of workers can also be covered under the COVID-19 vaccination drive at industrial and workplace inoculation centres. In a letter to all chief secretaries, the Health Ministry said that for industrial and private workplace CVCs (COVID-19 vaccination centres), the vaccine doses will have to be procured by the private hospitals with whom the respective employer ties up.

> Two doses from either the Oxford/AstraZeneca or the Pfizer vaccine are over 80 percent effective in preventing infection from the B1.617.2 variant of COVID-19, first discovered in India, a new UK government study has reportedly found.

> Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused the Opposition of practising duplicity over the anti-COVID vaccination, saying those opposing the vaccines earlier are now rushing to get them free of cost. The chief minister made the remarks while visiting Saifai in Etawah district on the day, the home town of his predecessor Akhilesh Yadav. The chief minister's remarks appeared to be a dig, aimed more at his predecessor.

> The BJP and Congress were engaged in a war of words in Chhattisgarh over the use of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's photograph in digital COVID-19 vaccination certificates being issued to people in the 18-44 age group. While the BJP criticised the move and called it cheap publicity, the Congress said there was nothing wrong in it as the cost of vaccination for this segment in the state was being borne by the Baghel government.

> Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy asked the Centre to stop the supply of COVID-19 vaccines to private hospitals in view of the limited availability of stock and saying they were collecting exorbitant amounts from people.

Here's the vaccination count for some states:

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