Since October 13, beneficiaries receiving the second shots have exceeded those taking the first dose of vaccination. Despite this emphasis, first doses far exceed the overall second vaccine doses.
India is set to cross the milestone of administering one billion Covid-19 vaccine doses today, just over nine months after the government initiated the mammoth immunisation drive in the second most populous country in the world.
The Centre is set to mark the day with numerous events, including the release of a song and an audio visual film by health minister Mansukh Mandaviya at Red Fort, said officials. The government will hail the event as #VaccineCentury on social media.
will cover the outer part of their entire aircraft fleet with images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and healthcare workers with the slogan 'Desh Jeetega, Corona Haarega' (The country will win, corona will lose).
Usha Breco, which operates ropeway rides under the brand name Udan Khatola, will provide free rides to first 100 fully vaccinated visitors at Mansadevi and Chandidevi ropeways in Haridwar, Malampuzha and Jatayupara ropeways in Kerala, and three ropeway projects in Jungadh, Halol and Ambaji.
Emphasis on Second Dose Meanwhile, in the run-up to the one billion vaccine mark, the government has renewed its emphasis on administration of the second dose. For the past one week, the trend of first doses exceeding the second has been reversed. In an interaction with state governments, health secretary Rajesh Bhushan emphasised on the need for people completing their vaccination. He told the states to cover districts with low vaccine uptake and exhort people to take the second dose of the vaccines.
Since October 13, beneficiaries receiving the second shots have exceeded those taking the first dose of vaccination. Despite this emphasis, first doses far exceed the overall second vaccine doses. Of the 995.4 million doses administered since the country began the vaccination drive on January 16, 704.4 million were first doses and 291.3 million second doses.
The biggest challenge before India remains full vaccination of healthcare and frontline workers - the first two priority groups that were covered in the initial phases of the drive. So far, 10.3 million healthcare workers have received their first dose. Despite being the first priority group to be covered, 9.1 million among them have received the second dose while the rest have not.
Reuters
