Over 190.65 crore Covid vaccine doses administered in India

The cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 190.65 crore on Tuesday, the Union health ministry said.

More than 12 lakh vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm on Tuesday, it said, adding that the daily vaccination tally is expected to go up with the compilation of the final reports by late night.

A total of 38,476 precaution doses of the vaccines were administered to beneficiaries aged 18-59 years till 7 pm, taking the total number of such doses given in this age group to 11,78,161, according to the ministry's data.

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Also, the first dose of the Covid vaccine has been administered to more than 3.08 crore children in the age group of 12-14 years.

The country began administering the precautionary doses of the vaccines to everyone aged above 18 years at private vaccination centres on April 10.

All those above the age of 18 and who have completed nine months since the administration of the second dose are eligible for the precaution dose.

The countrywide vaccination drive against the viral disease was rolled out on January 16 last year, with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) started on February 2 last year.

The next phase of Covid vaccination commenced on March 1 last year for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified comorbid conditions.

India launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1 last year. The Centre then decided to expand the vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 years of age to be inoculated against the viral disease from May 1 last year.

The next phase of vaccination commenced on January 3 this year for adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years.

India started administering the precautionary doses of the vaccines to HCWs, FLWs and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities from January 10.

The country began inoculating children aged 12-14 years on March 16 and also removed the comorbidity clause, making everyone aged above 60 years eligible to receive the precautionary dose of the vaccines.