India has vaccinated some nearly 53 lakhs healthcare workers during the last 21 days from the beginning of the countrywide vaccination drive against Covid-19.
“The cumulative number of healthcare workers vaccinated against Covid-19 is nearly 53 lakhs.
52,90,474 beneficiaries were vaccinated through 1,04,781 sessions till 6 pm on Saturday,” according to a union health ministry report released here late last evening.
Of the total, some 3,31,029 beneficiaries were vaccinated on the 21st day (February 5)of the vaccination drive.
Besides, 27 persons have been hospitalized so far.
No new hospitalization is recorded in the last 24 hours.
A total of 22 deaths have been registered till 6 pm yesterday with one fresh death reported in the past 24 hours.
The deceased is a 77-year old Male in Agra.
The man with pre-existing diabetes was died 7 days after vaccination, the health ministry report added.
India launched the world’s largest immunisation exercise against Covid-19 on January 16 with priority to about 30 million health care and frontline workers to be inoculated in the first phase.
However, the Indian government announced that the second Covid-19 vaccine shot for those who took the first shot on Day-1 of inoculation drive on January 16, will be administered on February 13.
The Centre also said while the country has made remarkable progress in terms of the number of people vaccinated — reaching the 5 million mark in Covid-19 vaccination in record 21 days — there is “substantial scope of improvement” in the number of average vaccinations per session.
Twelve states and Union Territories have achieved 60 per cent or more vaccination coverage of healthcare workers, the government said.
But all state were advised to “improve the percentage coverage of vaccinated beneficiaries,” a statement from the government read.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had earlier last month approved Oxford Covid-19 vaccine Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute, and indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech for restricted emergency use in the country, paving the way for a massive inoculation drive.
The cost of vaccination of healthcare and frontline workers will be borne by the Indian government.
[BSS]
