COVID: India's one-day inoculation surpasses NZ's population, record 69 lakh people jabbed

India on June 21 administered record 69 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine on day one of the implementation of 'Revised Guidelines for Covid Vaccination,' said Union Health Ministry as per news agency ANI. This implies that in the ramped-up fight against COVID-19, India has vaccinated an entire country such as New Zealand in a day. According to Statista, the total population of the Kiwi nation in 2021 as of now, is 51.2 lakhs. It is also the highest single-day coverage of coronavirus vaccine in the country till now as the government rolled out a new vaccination policy on Monday.

The centre started providing COVID-19 vaccines free of charge to all individuals above 18 from June 21 and took the control of vaccination from the state governments marking a reversal of policy change that was enforced only a month ago. The centre has also started the process of purchasing 75% of the vaccines produced by companies including 25% that is assigned to the respective states. Meanwhile, the private hospitals will continue to buy the remaining quarter to inoculate the ones who are willing to pay for their jabs. It was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month.

India’s last record-high vaccinations

India kickstarted its COVID-19 vaccination campaign on January 16 with an aim to vaccinate 3 crore healthcare workers. It registered the last record for single-day vaccine coverage on April 2 when it inoculated 42,65,157 doses after on March 1, PM Modi began the second phase of the vaccination which was dedicated to the ones above 60 years of age and 45-year-old with co-morbidities. Since the states began easing COVID-19 lockdown, several governments have set greater targets for inoculation. Till 2 PM on June 21, Gurugram’s health department had already vaccinated 45,728 people against COVID-19 in the last 24 hours which was also the highest coverage in the city till now.

Meanwhile, in Assam that has one of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates within the entire country, the government launched an "Enhanced Covid Vaccination" drive that targets to inoculate at least 3 lakh people each day for at least 10 days. Karnataka is also targeting to inoculate at least 7 lakh people on Monday in a boost to the state’s vaccination drive. 

IMAGE: PTI/Pixabay