Over 4 crore people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in Maharashtra

Amid rising global alarm over omicron, a new variant of the coronavirus said to be highly contagious and capable of frequent mutations, infectious diseases experts insist that rampant vaccination is key to containing the pandemic.

More than four crore individuals have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Maharashtra, the state's additional chief secretary (health) Pradeep Vyas said on Tuesday. A total of 11.42 crore doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the state so far, with as many as 74,287,818 people receiving at least one dose of the vaccine, the official added.

The total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered across India has now crossed 124 crore.  (File Photo / HT)

Amid rising global alarm over omicron, a new variant of the coronavirus said to be highly contagious and capable of frequent mutations, infectious diseases experts and public health professionals insist that rampant vaccination is key in containing the pandemic. Even though lockdowns can prove to be a temporary measure in pausing the virus in its tracks, new mutant variations are likely to re-emerge from under-vaccinated areas and in populations with unaddressed co-morbidities.

In such a scenario, only a high rate of immunisation can help a certain population reach ‘herd immunity’, since the percentage of the population that needs to be vaccinated to achieve such a stage keeps changing all the time due to the extent of the virus' impacts.

The total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered across India has now crossed 124 crore. Over 72 lakh doses were administered on Tuesday till 7pm, and according to the Union ministry of health and family welfare, the daily vaccination tally is expected to increase further with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late in the night.

As for Maharashtra, the state on Tuesday reported 678 fresh Covid-19 infections and 35 related fatalities, 14 more compared to the previous day. With the latest additions, Maharashtra's tally of infections rose to 66,35,658 and the Covid-19 death toll to 1,40,997, according to the official bulletin issued daily by the state's health department. A total of 942 patients were discharged during the day, taking the number of recoveries in Maharashtra to 64,83,435 at the recovery rate of 97.71%, leaving the state with 7,555 active cases.

In Maharashtra, 10 districts and seven municipal corporations did not report any new Covid-19 cases. Of the eight regions in the state, Mumbai reported the highest number of cases at 298, followed by 232 from the Pune region, and 80 from the Nashik region.