India set to hit 2-billion vaccine dose mark: PM Modi

India is all set to reach the two-billion Covid-19 vaccine dose mark. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday in a tweet that India was set to defeat Covid-19 and every Indian had made it possible. Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the country had started the countdown to the two billion mark on Saturday.

The total vaccination on Saturday reached 1.99 billion doses with 1.01 billion first doses, 925 million second doses and 56.23 million precautionary doses administered.

On Saturday, the country administered 2.5 million vaccines with 1,95,382 doses in the 12-14 age group, 82,647 doses in the 17-18 group, 1.66 million precautionary in 18-59 years and above 60 years was 2,52,272 doses.

The first Covid-19 case was reported in India on January 30, 2020, in Kerala and the World Health Organisation had declared the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic in March 2020. The government set up a task force for the Covid vaccine in April 2020 and the National Expert Group on Covid vaccination in August 2020, sanctioning `900 crore for vaccine development.

Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin got emergency use authorisation on January 1, 2021, and vaccination commenced with the CoWin vaccine platform on January 16, 2021, for the 949 million adult population.

Read More at https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/health/india-set-to-hit-2-billion-vaccine-dose-mark-pm-modi/2596322/