COVID-19: India's cumulative vaccination coverage crosses 87 crore

New Delhi [India], September 28 (ANI): India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage crossed 87 crores on Tuesday evening, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
"India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 87 crore (87,61,89,412) today. More than 49 lakh (49,45,169) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm today. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late tonight," read the official release from the Ministry.
In the country, the Cumulative first dose of COVID vaccine is administered to 64,25,70,102 beneficiaries and 23,36,19,310 were administered with their second dose.
India commenced its vaccination drive on January 16 this year.
The Union Government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of COVID-19 vaccination throughout the country. The new phase of universalization of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from June 21, 2021. The vaccination drive has been ramped up through the availability of more vaccines, advanced visibility of vaccine availability to States and UTs for enabling better planning by them, and streamlining the vaccine supply chain.
As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, the Government of India has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them COVID Vaccines free of cost. In the new phase of the universalization of the COVID19 vaccination drive, the Union Government will procure and supply (free of cost) 75 per cent of the vaccines being produced by the vaccine manufacturers in the country to States and UTs.
Meanwhile, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Tuesday wrote to the chief secretaries of all the states and union territories to strictly continue their five-fold strategy to avoid the possibility of a surge in COVID-19 cases during the upcoming festive season.
"The daily COVID-19 cases are declining steadily in the state, but the cases can rise during the upcoming festive season. So, the states and union territories should strictly continue to follow the five-fold strategy, that is, Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and Adherence to COVID-19 protocols, to avoid the possibility of a spike in cases in the festive season," the official statement issued by the Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said.
With 18,795 new COVID-19 infections reported in the last 24 hours, India recorded less than 20,000 cases after 201 days, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday. Out of 18,795 new COVID-19 cases across India, 11,699 cases were reported in Kerala yesterday. (ANI)