India has attained the milestone of administering 100 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses today prompting Prime Minister Modi to remark that the country has scripted history. PM Modi termed the milestone a triumph of Indian science, enterprise and collective spirit of 130 crore people of the country. After visiting the national capital’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital to congratulate health workers and nurses on the achievement, PM Modi remarked that the country now has a shield that will provide protection for the coming 100 years against the pandemic, news agency PTI reported.
It was earlier estimated that the mark of administering 100 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccine will be attained in the initial hours of vaccination drive on Thursday. The country had already administered 99.7 crore vaccine doses to the beneficiaries in the country by the end of Wednesday and was 30 lakh doses short from the 100 crore milestone. While 74 percent of the estimated adult population have received the first dose of Coronavirus vaccine, about 31 percent of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated with two consecutive doses of Coronavirus vaccine.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya earlier in a celebratory tweet wrote that the country was about to make the vaccine century and appealed to people to become a part of the golden event by getting themselves vaccinated immediately.
It is significant to note that out of the total administered doses of Coronavirus vaccine about 65 percent doses have been administered in the rural areas of the country while the remaining 35 percent doses vaccinated the urban populace of the country. While the equity in vaccine access is heartening, the central government has instructed the state governments to now turn their focus on ensuring that all beneficiaries have been vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.
Among the heavyweight states that have alone vaccinated over 6 crore vaccine doses are Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka and Rajasthan. It is pertinent to note that in exactly ten months since the beginning of Covid-19 vaccination in the country on January 16, the country has been able to attain the humongous milestone of 100 crore doses. On January 16, the vaccination drive was started only for health workers and other frontline workers and it was later opened for vulnerable beneficiaries who are aged above 45. From May 1, the country had made the vaccines accessible to the population aged above 18 years.