The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has exceeded 22.37 crore, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. It said 14,20,288 people between 18 and 44 years received the first dose of vaccine and 27,203 beneficiaries of the same age group received the second dose on Thursday.

Cumulatively, 2,40,54,868 people in this age group have received their first dose and 86,568 beneficiaries got their second shot since the start of phase three of the vaccination drive.

Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to more than 10 lakh beneficiaries of the age group 18-44 years, the ministry said.

Of the 22,37,27,632 who have received COVID-19 vaccine, 99,24,634 are healthcare and 1,59,18,192 frontline workers who have taken the first dose, 68,26,409 healthcare and 86,04,747 frontline workers who got the second shot, while 2,40,54,868 individual in the 18-44 years age group have taken the first dose and 86,568 people in the same group have received both doses.

Besides, 6,85,51,044 beneficiaries aged between 45 and 60 years have been administered the first dose and 1,10,74,273 people in the same age group have been given the second shot. Also, 5,96,72,572 senior citizens have taken the first dose of vaccine and 1,90,14,325 people above 60 years have taken the second dose.

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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Total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India exceeds 22.37 crore: Govt

Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to more than 10 lakh beneficiaries of the age group 18-44 years, the ministry said.

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