HomeNewsTrendsHealthOver 20 lakh anti-coronavirus vaccine doses administered in a day: Health Ministry

Over 20 lakh anti-coronavirus vaccine doses administered in a day: Health Ministry

As on day-52 of the Covid-19 vaccination drive (March 8), 20,19,723 vaccine doses were given.

March 09, 2021 / 13:29 IST
Representative image: Reuters

Representative image: Reuters

More than 20 lakh people were inoculated against coronavirus on March 8, the highest in a day so far, taking the total number of vaccine doses administered in the country to over 2.3 crore, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

As on day-52 of the COVID-19 vaccination drive (March 8), 20,19,723 vaccine doses were given.

Out of which, 17,15,380 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 28,884 sessions for 1st dose and 3,04,343 healthcare workers (HCWs) and frontline workers (FLWs) received 2nd dose of anti-coronavirus vaccine.

The 17,15,380 beneficiaries include 12,22,351 aged over 60 years and 2,21,148 aged 45 to 60 with specified comorbidities.

Follow our LIVE blog for latest updates of the novel coronavirus pandemic

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

View more
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.

View more
Show

"India has recorded a significant achievement in its countrywide COVID-19 vaccination drive which was rolled out from January 16. More than 2 million vaccine doses were administered in a span of 24 hours," the ministry said.

A total of 2,30,08,733 vaccine doses have been administered through 4,05,517 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am on Tuesday.

These include 70,75,010 HCWs (1st dose), 37,39,478 HCWs (2nd dose), 67,92,319FLWs (1st dose) and 3,25,972 FLWs (2nd dose), 7,01,80 9beneficiaries aged more than 45 years with specific co-morbidities (1st dose) and 43,74,145 beneficiaries aged more than 60 years.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Karnataka continue to report a surge in the COVID-19 daily new cases. They cumulatively account for 84.04 percent of the new cases reported in a span of 24 hours.

A total 15,388 new infections were registered in a span of 24 hours. Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 8,744. It is followed by Kerala with 1,412 fresh cases while Punjab reported 1,229 new cases, the ministry stated.

"Eight states -- Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh -- are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases," the ministry underlined.

India's active caseload has reached 1,87,462 which comprises 1.67 percent of the country’s total infections.

Showing the distribution of new cases in a span of 24 hours, the ministry said four states -- Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura -- did not report any new COVID-19 case, while Maharashtra, Punjab and Kerala reported over 1,000 new cases.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here.

PTI
first published: Mar 9, 2021 01:29 pm

Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!

Advisory Alert: It has come to our attention that certain individuals are representing themselves as affiliates of Moneycontrol and soliciting funds on the false promise of assured returns on their investments. We wish to reiterate that Moneycontrol does not solicit funds from investors and neither does it promise any assured returns. In case you are approached by anyone making such claims, please write to us at grievanceofficer@nw18.com or call on 02268882347