India crosses 52-crore mark in COVID-19 vaccination coverage; Uttar Pradesh tops list

Amid the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, India's vaccination tally has surpassed the 52 crore mark with over 44 lakh people vaccinated on Wednesday, August 11, according to the official data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Union Health Ministry said the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country stands at 52,36,71,019 with 44,19,627 beneficiaries inoculated yesterday. Of this, 32,51,001 people received their first dose while 11,68,626 got their second. As per the data, India has administered a total of 40,69,80,329 first doses and 11,66,90,690 second doses as of now.  

Uttar Pradesh tops the COVID vaccination tally

Among the States, Uttar Pradesh is leading the overall vaccination drive having administered 5,55,23,603 total doses of the vaccine so far, followed by Maharashtra with 4,77,48,246 total doses administered and Gujarat with 3,79,82,413 doses. In terms of the first dose, Uttar Pradesh tops the chart followed by Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, whereas, Maharashtra is the leading state in terms of administering the second dose of vaccine followed by Gujarat and West Bengal, as per the official data.
The vaccination drive was rolled out in January 2021, with healthcare workers getting inoculated and the vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2.

The next phase of vaccination kicked off from March 1 for those over 60 years of age and people aged 45 and above with specific comorbid conditions, whereas, the vaccination drive for all people aged above 45 years started from April 1. Further, in view of the second wave of the pandemic, the government decided to expand the vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 years of age to be vaccinated from May 1.   

India logs over 41,000 COVID cases in the last 24 hours

Meanwhile, the country's total caseload reached 3,20,77,706 after 41,195 people were tested positive in the last 24 hours ending at 8 am on Thursday. The number was a significant rise from Wednesday's 38,353 cases. The daily death toll also saw a rise as 490 people succumbed to the virus, mounting the cumulative death toll to 4,29,669, as per the data released by the Union Health Ministry. The data further showed that Kerala continues to be the top contributor by registering over 23,000 cases followed by Maharashtra with 5,560 positive cases.  

(Image Credits: PTI)