COVID: India records 36,083 new cases in 24 hrs, more than 54 cr people vaccinated so far

India recorded 36,083 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, August 14 and reported 493 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to data from the Union Health Ministry. Since the pandemic began, more than 3.21 crore people have tested positive for Coronavirus and the total death tally has surpassed 4.31 lakh. Active cases stand at 3.85 lakh as at least 3.13 crore people have recovered from the disease. The two states with the maximum number of daily cases were Kerala with new 19,451 cases and 105 deaths, while Maharashtra had 5,787 new infections and 177 deaths.

According to the official data, 54,38,46,290 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday during his Independence Day speech at the Red Fort said that India must take pride in having the world's largest vaccination programme, due to which over 54 crore people have already been administered with a vaccine. He said, “We can say with pride that the world's largest COVID vaccination programme is going on in India. More than 54 crore people have already taken the vaccine.”

PM Modi lauded the vaccine manufacturers within the country and said that India did not have to depend on imports from the outside world for vaccines against Coronavirus. He said, "We have to ensure we meet our goal of building Aatmanirbhar Bharat when we celebrate 100 years of India's Independence.” He also thanked the doctors, nurses and paramedics for their efforts in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, he said that the creation of CoWIN app was a milestone as it is attracting interest from around the globe.

Maharashtra almost touches ten-lakh daily vaccines

In Maharashtra, a record number of 9.36 lakh people were administered the COVID-19 vaccines till 7 pm on Saturday. This is the highest number of vaccines administered in a single day in the state, with its previous number being 8.11 lakh doses on July 3. The number could have even increased as some vaccine centres had pending shots left. State’s health minister, Rajesh Tope said, “If the supply of vaccine is adequate and uninterrupted, Maharashtra has the potential to cover 10 lakh people daily.”

With PTI inputs