Over 179.31 cr Covid vaccine doses administered in India so far: Govt

Cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 179.31 crore on Tuesday.

The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 179.31 crore on Tuesday, the Union health ministry said. More than 16 lakh (16,59,691) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm, it said.

The ministry said more than 2.08 crore (2,08,51,175) precaution doses for the identified categories of beneficiaries (HCWs, FLWs and over 60 years) for Covid vaccination have been administered so far.

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

Cumulatively, 55,28,44,690 first doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to individuals in the 18-44 age group across states and Union Territories and 45,15,67,945 second doses have been given in the same age group since the start of phase 3 of the vaccination drive, according to ministry data.

The ministry further said that cumulatively 96,62,16,758 first doses have been administered and 80,60,84,441 second doses have been given.

India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 179.31 crore (1,79,31,52,374) today, it said.

In the 15-18 age group, 5,55,72,285 first doses and 3,19,83,217 second doses have been administered. More than 2,08,51,175 precaution doses have been administered to the identified categories of beneficiaries.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of 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 and above with specified co-morbid conditions. The country launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1.

The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 to be inoculated from May 1.

The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from January 3 for adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years.

India began administering precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine to healthcare workers, frontline workers including personnel deployed for election duty and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities from January 10 amid the country witnessing a spike in coronavirus infections fuelled by its Omicron variant.