Vaccine administration rising every month, 134.5 million doses given in July: Health minister Mandaviya

According to the Union health ministry’s data till 7am on Saturday, authorities have so far administered 501,009,609 vaccine doses and 390,041,560 people have received the first dose and the remaining 110,968,049 have got the second one and are fully vaccinated.

Union health minister Manuskh Mandaviya said on Saturday that the administration of vaccines against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is gaining pace in India and pointed out that 134.5 million doses were administered in July.

A health worker administers a dose of Covid-19 vaccine to a beneficiary, at a government school at DDU Marg in New Delhi. (Raj K Raj/HT file photo)

“India is going strong in the fight against Covid-19. Charting a path to ‘SabkoVaccineMuftVaccine’, vaccine administration is rapidly increasing every month. July saw a remarkable daily average of 43.41 lakh doses and a total of 13.45 crore doses,” Mandaviya tweeted.

According to the Union health ministry’s data till 7am on Saturday, authorities have so far administered 501,009,609 vaccine doses and 390,041,560 people have received the first dose and the remaining 110,968,049 have got the second one and are fully vaccinated.

Health minister Mandaviya's comments come a day after the country’s vaccination coverage crossed the 500 million mark on Friday, which was also the 203rd day of the inoculation drive that started on January 16 this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Centre hopes to build on these numbers and ensure that citizens are vaccinated under the “Sabko Vaccine Muft Vaccine” movement.

“India’s fight against Covid-19 receives a strong impetus. Vaccination numbers cross the 50 crore mark. We hope to build on these numbers and ensure our citizens are vaccinated under #SabkoVaccineMuftVaccine movement,” Modi wrote on the microblogging site on Friday.

Mandaviya also tweeted about the milestone on Friday and mentioned the number of days it took to reach the 500-million mark.

Currently, the vaccination drive is on for all citizens above the age of 18 and they are receiving doses of either Serum Institute of India’s (SII’s) Covishield, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin or Russia-made Sputnik V. American pharmaceutical company Moderna Inc has also been granted approval for its Covid-19 vaccine “Moderna”, which will be imported by Cipla. And on Saturday, another American company, Johnson & Johnson, was granted approval for emergency use of its single-dose shot in India.