Total COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India cross 200-crore mark

As of Sunday, India had administered more than 200 billion vaccine doses nationwide, officials from the health ministry report that 71% of vaccinations have been administered in Covid vaccination centres in rural areas.

PTI

July 17, 2022 / 13:16 IST

(Image: Reuters)

India achieved a major milestone in its vaccination programme against COVID-19 as the cumulative vaccine doses administered in the country surpassed the 200-crore mark on Sunday. According to the health ministry data, 98 per cent of the adult population has received at least one dose while 90 per cent have been fully vaccinated.

The data showed that 82 per cent of adolescents aged 15 to 18 years have also been vaccinated with the first dose since the vaccination for this age group began on January 3 while 68 per cent have got both the first and second dose. Eighty one per cent of those aged 12-14 years have taken the first dose while 56 per cent are fully vaccinated.

According to health ministry officials, 71 per cent of the vaccination has taken place in Covid vaccination centres located in rural and 29 per cent in urban areas. Also, 48.9 per cent of the total doses were administered to women while 51.5 per cent in men. According to the data, 0.02 per cent of total vaccine doses administered were given to Others'. Also, 48.9 per cent of the total doses were administered to women while 51.5 per cent in men.

In Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep, Chandigarh, Telangana and Goa, 100 per cent of the 12 year plus eligible population is fully vaccinated. The top five states where highest number of doses have been administered are Uttar Pradesh (34,41,93,641), Maharashtra (17,05,59,447), West Bengal (14,40,33,794), Bihar (13,98,52,042) and Madhya Pradesh (12,13,15,911) till 7 am on Sunday. A total of 5,63,67,888 precaution doses have been administered to all eligible population.

The cumulative Covid vaccine doses administered in the country crossed the 100-crore mark on October 21 last year and 150 crore on January 7 this year. The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. Vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2 last year.

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.

Show