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Over 21 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered in India so far

As 14,15,190 people in the age group of 18-44 years received their first dose and 9,075 in the same group received their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine on May 29.

May 29, 2021 / 10:18 PM IST
Representative image

Representative image

The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 21 crore, the Union health ministry said on May 29.

It said 14,15,190 people in the age group of 18-44 years received their first dose and 9,075 in the same group received their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine on May 29.

Cumulatively, 1,82,25,509 persons across the country have received their first dose since the start of phase-3 of the vaccination drive, the ministry said.

Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have administered to more than 10 lakh beneficiaries in the age group 18-44 years their first vaccine dose, it said.

The country has administered 21,18,39,768 doses in total, as per the 7 pm provisional report, the ministry said.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

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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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The total of 21,18,39,768 includes 98,61,648 healthcare workers (HCWs) who have taken their first dose and 67,71,436 HCWs who have taken the second dose, and 1,55,53,395 frontline workers (FLWs) who have received their first dose and 84,87,493 FLWs who have taken the second dose.

It also has 1,82,25,509 and 9,373 people in the 18-44 years age who have received the first does and second dose respectively.

Besides them, 6,53,51,847 and 1,05,17,121 beneficiaries aged 45-60 years have been administered the first dose and second dose respectively, and 5,84,18,226 and 1,86,43,720 people above 60 years have taken the first dose and second dose respectively.

As on the 134th day of the vaccination drive, a total of 28,09,436 vaccine doses were given.

The ministry said 25,11,052 beneficiaries were vaccinated for the first dose and 2,98,384 beneficiaries received the second dose, as per the provisional report till 7 PM.

Final reports would be completed for the day by late tonight, it said.

The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, the ministry said.

PTI
first published: May 29, 2021 10:18 pm