Over 46.72 cr Covid vaccine doses administered in India so far; 53 lakh on Saturday: Government

The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 46.72 crore, the Union health ministry said on Saturday.

On the 197th day of the countrywide vaccination drive, a total of 53,72,302 vaccine doses were administered — 38,22,241 beneficiaries vaccinated for the first dose and 15,50,061 for the second dose — according to a provisional report compiled at 7 pm.

The cumulative vaccination coverage of 46,72,59,775 doses is segregated based on the population priority groups, the ministry said.

It said 27,90,366 beneficiaries in the age group of 18-44 years received the first dose and 4,98,407 were administered the second dose of the vaccine on Saturday.

Cumulatively, 15,52,16,851 people in the 18-44 age group have received the first dose and 85,77,075 have received the second dose of the vaccine across the 37 states and Union territories since the start of the third phase of the vaccination drive.

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Five states — Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh — have administered more than one crore vaccine doses each to beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group.

Also, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have administered the first dose of the vaccine to more than 10 lakh beneficiaries each in the said age group.

The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from Covid-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, the ministry said.