WHO Chief Scientist praises India as it vaccinates 50% of adults with at least 1 dose

New Delhi: World Health Organization (WHO) chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan congratulated India after the country administered more than 10 million Covid-19 vaccine doses ahead of fears of another surge in infections. "India achieves 50% coverage (at least one dose) of adult populn - > 620 million doses administered, 10 million in the past day! Congratulations to the thousands of personnel involved. Vaccination, along with public health & individual preventive measures will protect everyone!" Swaminathan said in her tweet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed it as a "momentous feat" for the country. “Record vaccination numbers today! Crossing 1 crore is a momentous feat. Kudos to those getting vaccinated and those making the vaccination drive a success,” PM Modi tweeted on Friday night.

A total of 10,064,376 doses had been administered on Friday, bettering the previous high of 8.82 million doses set on August 16, according to the Union ministry of health and family welfare’s Co-WIN dashboard. An average of 6.9 million vaccine doses has been administered across the country every day in the past week in the highest pace of the inoculation drive ever recorded in the country since the start of the mass programme on January 16.

India has now administered about 621 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, giving at least one dose to more than half of its 940 million adults and the required two doses to 15 per cent. This means that 51 per cent of people above the age of 18 years have received vaccine shots with 35.9 per cent partially vaccinated and 15.1 per cent has received both doses. The government wants the entire adult population covered by December.

The chief of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation in India (NTAGI), Dr NK Arora, said it is a matter of pride for the Indian health system. Dr Arora also said that the country hopes to vaccinate 12.5 million people in a single day soon. In order to achieve complete vaccination by the end of this year, the country has to give jabs to 10 million every day until December 31.

The sharp rise in vaccinations came as India reported more than 40,000 new Covid-19 cases for a second consecutive day on Friday. The infections, which fell to a five-month low of 25,166 in the middle of the month, have gone up in the last three days, mainly in Kerala.

India reported 44,658 new Covid-19 infections on Friday, taking the total to 32.6 million, the most in the world after the United States. The country’s death toll rose by 496 to 436,861. Kerala has accounted for nearly 60 per cent of the new Covid-19 cases in the past week and more than half of the total active cases, followed by 16 per cent in Maharashtra.