Nearly 89 crore Covid vaccine doses administered in India: Government

NEW DELHI: Nearly 89 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses have so far been administered in the country, the

Union health ministry

said on Thursday.


More than 58 lakh vaccine doses were administered on Thursday till 7 pm.

The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night, the ministry said.

According to the ministry's data, a total of 64,98,28,333 first doses and 23,97,86,150 second doses of the vaccine have been administered across the country.

The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from Covid-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, the ministry underlined.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16, with the

healthcare workers

(HCWs) getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of the frontline workers (FLWs) started from February 2.

The next phase of Covid-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 years and above with specified co-morbid conditions.

The country launched vaccination for all people aged above 45 years from April 1.

The

government

then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 years of age to be vaccinated from May 1.