In Charts | COVID-19 cases and vaccination: India vs other countries

India hit the landmark figure of 1 billion COVID-19 vaccinations administered on October 21. Here’s how India fares in fighting the pandemic.

Moneycontrol News

October 21, 2021 / 17:24 IST

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India administered 1 billion (100 crore) COVID-19 vaccine doses on October 21 in a span of just over nine months, a commendable feat for a country with a 1.3 billion population scattered far and wide, including some of the most remote places. The efforts of healthcare workers and vaccinators have been lauded by all, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India scripts history.
We are witnessing the triumph of Indian science, enterprise and collective spirit of 130 crore Indians.
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Congrats India on crossing 100 crore vaccinations. Gratitude to our doctors, nurses and all those who worked to achieve this feat. #VaccineCentury
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 21, 2021

Since the pandemic, India has reported over 34 million COVID-19 cases and 452,811 deaths. More than 33 million people have recovered, as per the October 21 update.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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