COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker: 20.3 lakh doses administered in India on May 25

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More than 20.39 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered in India on May 25, the Union Health Ministry's latest provisional report suggested. With that, the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country reached 20.06 crore.

On the 130th day of the vaccination drive (May 25), 18.35 lakh beneficiaries received their first shot and 2.03 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 second dose administration for people above 45 years of age resumed across Telangana on May 25, said an official release. On May 16, the government said it was suspending the second dose inoculation drive for persons above 45 years of age citing inadequate stock of Covaxin vaccine and non-receipt of fresh stocks from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

> External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a comprehensive in-person meeting with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and discussed the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and underlined the importance of finding an "urgent and effective" global vaccine solution to fight the deadly disease.

> A total of 66 percent people above 45 years have been administered the COVID-19 vaccine so far in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Jammu and Kashmir is among the leading regions in the country in vaccination of above 45 years age group having vaccinated 66 percent of its eligible population which is well above the national average of 32 percent, officials said.

> The Kerala government has included those who are going abroad for studies and employment purpose, in the prioritised group under the 18-44 years age category for the COVID-19 vaccination.

> The Centre advised states and UTs to plan for scaling up vaccination coverage through available stocks and anticipated supplies till the end of June, while private hospitals were advised not to allow offline vaccine registration as all registrations should be online.

> Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said that the government is carrying out an aggressive vaccination drive to stop the spread of COVID-19 cases in the rural areas of the state.

> William Shakespeare (81), who made history when he became the first man in the world to have the COVID-19 vaccination, has died of an unrelated illness, the British media reported. Coventry councillor Jayne Innes, a friend of Shakespeare, said he had died on May 20 and added the "best tribute to Bill is to have the jab".

Here's the vaccination count for some states:

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