COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker: Over 38.18 lakh doses given on September 26

On the 254th day of the vaccination drive against COVID-19, 22.13 lakh beneficiaries received their first shot and 16.05 lakh their second dose.(Representative image: Reuters)

More than 38.18 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered in India on September 26, taking the total number of jabs to over 86.01 crore, the Union Health Ministry's latest report has said.

On the 254th day of the vaccination drive against COVID-19, 22.13 lakh beneficiaries received their first shot and 16.05 lakh their second dose.

After a slow start, India’s vaccination drive has picked up in the last few weeks, It took the country 85 days to give the first 10 crore doses. The next 10 crore took 45 days and in another 29 days, India touched the 30-crore mark.

The country took 24 days to reach 40 crore and 20 days to cross 50-crore doses on August 6. By August 25, India has given 60 crore doses. On September 13, 75 crore COVID-19 vaccines had been given. The biggest jump, however, came on September 17, when more than 2.1 crore doses were given in a day.

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

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. In the second phase that started from March 1, everyone above 60 and above 45 with comorbidities was included. From April 1, the drive was expanded to everyone aged 45 and above.

From May 1, the 18-44 age group, too, was eligible for the jab June 21.

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

- Tamil Nadu inoculated 24.85 lakh people against COVID-19 in the third edition of the Mega Vaccination drive held on September 26, as against the projected 15 lakh doses. Of the 24.85 lakh people who received the jabs, 14.90 lakh got the first shot while the remaining 9.95 lakh were administered the second dose of vaccine, a press release said. Eyeing to vaccinate over 15 lakh people, Tamil Nadu conducted the third Mega Vaccination camp following the success of similar campaigns held in the state on September 12 and 19, respectively.

- Ahead of the festival season, PM Modi on the day urged people to keep following COVID-19 protocol and ensure that no one is left out of vaccination's "circle of safety". In his monthly 'Mann Ki Baat' radio broadcast, the prime minister said when the whole country will celebrate 'Maryada Purshottam' Shri Ram's victory over untruth, people should also remember the fight against COVID.

- Arunachal Pradesh Governor BD Mishra asked the village headmen on the day for encouraging people to take vaccines to defeat the coronavirus.

- Authorities here in Madhya Pradesh were left baffled when a man, hesitant to take vaccine against COVID-19, said he will take the first jab in the presence of PM Modi. A video of the incident surfaced on social media platforms, and district officials later said they will again reach out to the man and convince him to get vaccinated.