COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker: Over 5.65 lakh jabs given on November 4

A healthcare worker gives a dose of the COVISHIELD vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), manufactured by Serum Institute of India, to a farmer in his field, during a door-to-door vaccination drive in Banaskantha district in the western state of Gujarat. (Representative image: Reuters)

India administered more than 30.9 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, taking the vaccination count beyond 107.7 crore, according to the Union Health Ministry update on November 5.

On the 293rd day of the nationwide vaccination drive, over 2.01 lakh people received their first shot and 3.63 lakh their second dose.

The vaccination drive accelerated over 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.

By the following 24 days, the count reached 40 crore and crossed the 50-crore mark after 20 days on August 6. By September 13, 75 crore vaccine doses were given. The biggest jump, however, came on September 17, when more than 2.1 crore shots were given in one day.

On October 21, India scripted history with a cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country surpassing the 100-crore milestone.

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. The next phase started on March 1 for people over 60 years and those aged 45 and above with specified comorbid conditions. From April 1, the drive was expanded to include all aged 45 and above. The government decided to expand the vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 to be vaccinated from May 1.

Some major relevant developments:

- Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya visited his hometown Palitana in Gujarat on November 4 and went door-to-door at Shetrunji village as part of the government’s ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ initiative and urged people to get vaccinated. He also appealed to the citizens to undertake the initiative and take this campaign forward. The campaign is planned to motivate people to get the vaccine.

- The chief of the World Health Organisation (WHO) called on vaccine manufacturers that have WHO Emergency Use Listing to prioritise COVAX, not shareholder profit. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the remarks a day after the WHO granted emergency use approval for Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.

- Singapore, concerned with a high level of daily COVID-19 cases and deaths, has warned that unvaccinated public officers will be placed on unpaid leave if they avoided the nation-wide vaccination exercise despite being medically eligible.

- The City of Vienna said on the day that it is banning people not vaccinated against COVID-19 from cafes, restaurants and events with more than 25 people, pre-empting measures that are likely to be introduced across Austria soon as infections are surging. Roughly 64 percent of Austria’s population is fully vaccinated against the Corona virus.

- Top WHO officials said that Europe has seen more than 50 percent jump in Corona virus cases in the last month, making it the epicentre of the pandemic, despite ample supply of vaccines. There may be plenty of vaccines available, but uptake of vaccine has not been equal, WHO emergencies chief Dr Michael Ryan said during a press briefing on the day.

Vaccination count for states/UTs: