India's Covid-19 vaccination coverage crosses 85 crore

India's Covid-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 85 crores with over 62 lakh vaccine doses being administered on Saturday, the Union health ministry said.

So far, 85,54,78,279 vaccine doses have been administered in the country. On Saturday, 62,42,122 doses were given till 7 pm, it said.

The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night, the ministry said.

"In a landmark achievement, India's Covid-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 85 crore landmark milestone (85,54,78,279) today. More than 62 lakh (62,42,122) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm today," it said.

According to the data shared by the ministry, 63,04,33,142 first doses have been administered and 22,50,45,137 second doses have been given.

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.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2.

The next phase of Covid-19 vaccination started from March 1 for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.

The country launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1. The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 to be vaccinated from May 1.

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