With over 32.36 crore Covid-19 vaccinations, India overtakes US in total doses administered

NEW DELHI: In another significant Covid-19 vaccination milestone, India has overtaken the United States of America (USA) in the total number of vaccine doses administered so far, the Union health ministry said on Monday.
As many as 32,36,63,297 doses have been administered in India since the vaccination drive started on January 16. The United States, meanwhile, has administered 32,33,27,328 doses of the vaccine since vaccinations started on December 8.

While India has administered the highest number of vaccine doses in the world, its percentage of the population vaccinated against Covid-19 remains significantly low as compared to the other countries in the league.

On June 21, India launched the centralised free vaccination policy under which the government will provide free Covid-19 vaccine to everyone above 18 years of age. More than 80 lakh vaccine doses, the highest ever single-day vaccination in the world so far, were administered across the country as the revised guidelines came into effect.

Madhya Pradesh administered the maximum number of vaccine doses at 15.98 lakh, followed by Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh at 10.86 lakh and 6.89 lakh respectively.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 33,624,871 and 603,966, respectively, according to the CSSE. In terms of infections, India follows in second place with 30,233,183 cases.

(With inputs from agencies)