India's COVID vaccination coverage exceeds 15.68 cr as Phase-3 of vaccination drive begins

With phase-3 of nationwide vaccination drive commencing on May 1, India's cumulative vaccination coverage has exceeded 15.68 crore, said the Ministry of Health on Sunday. More than 86 thousand beneficiaries of age group 18-44 were vaccinated on the first day of vaccination drive phase-3, it added. Registration for the newly eligible population groups has commenced on April 28.

According to an official release by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, a total of 15,68,16,031 vaccine doses have been administered through 22,93,911 sessions till 7 am on Sunday. This included:

• 94,28,490 health care workers (HCWs) who have taken the 1st dose and 62,65,397 HCWs who have taken the 2nd dose
• 1,27,57,529 front line workers (1stdose), 69,22,093 FLWs (2nddose)
• 86,023 beneficiaries under 18-45 age group (1st dose)
• 5,26,18,135 1st dose beneficiaries and 1,14,49,310 2nd dose beneficiaries more than 60 years old
• 5,32,80,976 (1st dose) and 40,08,078 (2nd dose) beneficiaries aged 45 to 60 years.

The Ministry also stated that over 29 crore tests have been conducted so far while the cumulative positivity rate has increased to 6.74 per cent.

85,000 beneficiaries inoculated in 11 states

As per Health Ministry reports, a total of 84,599 beneficiaries of the 18-44 age group on Saturday received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on the first day of the Phase 3 vaccination drive. These states are Chhattisgarh (987), Delhi (1,472), Gujarat (51,622), Jammu and Kashmir (201), Karnataka (649), Maharashtra (12,525), Odisha (97), Punjab (298), Rajasthan (1853), Tamil Nadu (527) and UP (15,792).

Over 16 lakh vaccine doses were administered till 8 pm on Saturday, the 106th day of nationwide COVID-19 vaccination. In the 45-60 age group, 5.33 crore people have taken the first dose, while over 40 lakh have been given the second dose of the jab so far.

COVID-19 cases in India

As per Union Health Ministry, India reported 3,92,488 new COVID-19 cases, 3,689 deaths and as many as 3,07,865 recoveries In the last 24 hours:

• Total cases: 1,95,57,457
• Total recoveries: 1,59,92,271
• Death toll: 2,15,542
• Active cases: 33,49,644
• Total vaccination: 15,68,16,031

(With ANI Inputs)

(Image Credits: PTI-REPRESENTATIVEIMAGE)