In Maharashtra, over 30 million people fully vaccinated against Covid-19

91.5 million residents of the state, out of its total population of 120 million, are eligible for inoculation against the viral illness.

Days after India achieved the landmark of administering more than a billion (100 crore) jabs of vaccines against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), Maharashtra on Tuesday crossed the milestone of fully vaccinating 30 million residents of the state, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's office informed in a tweet.

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“Today, Maharashtra has crossed the milestone of 3 crore fully vaccinated citizens, the highest for any state in the country. This is a big feat for our health care system. We are also making sure to reach the goal of fully vaccinated households=fully vaccinated Maharashtra,” the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) tweeted.

Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray, too, took to Twitter to share the “good news.” Thackeray posted: “Maharashtra today crossed the 3 crore mark for fully vaccinated people. That's the highest in the country for those who are fully vaccinated. Our healthcare system is working to vaccinate every citizen in the state at the earliest and ensuring that nobody is left behind.”

Tuesday's development means that the western state has now fully vaccinated nearly 25 per cent of its total population. Overall, 91.5 million people in Maharashtra were eligible for inoculation against the viral illness, which means that around one-third of those eligible have taken both their jabs.

The nationwide vaccination drive began on January 16. Thus far, nearly 1.03 billion doses have been administered, as per the Union health ministry's dashboard. This includes both single and fully (double) vaccinated beneficiaries. For now, only those aged 18 and above are eligible for inoculation.

Also on Tuesday, Maharashtra saw a rise in its fresh Covid-19 infections, with 1201 people testing positive as against 889 a day ago, according to a health department bulletin. The virus also claimed 32 lives, up from 12 on October 25. The cumulative infection tally stands at 6,605,051, including 6,438,395 recoveries and 140,060 deaths.