PM Modi lauds doctors, nurses and Indians' spirit as India crosses 1 billion vaccine doses

Lauding India for scripting history, PM Modi on Thursday, congratulated the nation for crossing 100 crore vaccinations. Thanking the doctors, nurses and all those who worked to achieve this feat, he bowed down to the collective spirit of 130 crore Indians. As of date, India has administered 1,00,06,44,700 doses of which 70,83,88,485 have been inoculted with one dose and  29,18,32,226 have been administered both doses.

PM Modi: India scripts history

India administers a billion doses

The Prime Minister visited Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital along with Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya as India clocked a billion vaccine doses. The Centre has planned multiple celebrations to mark this occasion including expanding its awareness campaign via announcements at airplanes, ships, metros, and at railway stations. Apart from this, the largest khadi tricolour will be displayed at the Red Fort on Thursday to mark the feat and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), plans to light up 100 landmarks of India with the tricolour.

Speaking about the road ahead, Mandaviya said, "After 100 crore doses are administered, we will go in mission mode to ensure that those who have taken their first dose take their second dose too to ensure they are protected against COVID-19". The Centre also informed that villages that have completed 100 per cent vaccination should mark the achievement by putting up posters and banners complimenting health workers for the same. Meanwhile, airline company SpiceJet said that it will unveil a special livery at the Delhi airport to celebrate the 100 crore vaccine milestone.

As per COWIN portal, 75 percent of all adults have received the first dose of the vaccine and 31 per cent have been administered both doses. Topping the list of highest doses are Uttar Pradesh (12,08,84,032), Maharashtra (9,23,34,244), West Bengal (6,82,34,821), Gujarat (6,73,60,662) and Madhya Pradesh (6,67,91,915). On the other hand, states like Sikkim and Jharkhand have fallen behind in the vaccination drive.

India started inoculating its citizens in a phased manner from January 16, prioritising healthcare workers first. With two indigenous vaccines (Covishield & Covaxin), India's vaccine basket has now expanded to six jabs -  Covishield, Covaxin, Sputnik V, Moderna vaccine, J&J's Janssen vaccine and Zydus Cadila's ZyCOV-D with Gennova's mRNA vaccine, Biological E's Corbevax, Covaxin's nasal vaccine and Novovax's Covovax in the pipeline. More than 103.5 crore vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs till date and over 10.85 Cr unutilized vaccine doses are still available. India reported 18,454 new cases in the last 24 hours with an active caseload at 1,78,831 and the recovery rate at 98.15%.