Vaccination / India breaks single-day COVID-19 vaccination record, crosses 2cr on PM's birthday

New Delhi: In a record-breaking feat, India administered over two crore vaccine doses against the coronavirus disease on Friday. The accomplishment came on a day the government initiated moves to boost the inoculation drive on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday.

As many as 2,11,28,784 doses of the vaccine were administered during the day at the time of filing the report, according to data available on the government-run Co-WIN portal.

This pushed the total number of vaccines administered across the country against the virus to 78.68 crore. It also helped the country cross the one-crore mark in the daily vaccination figures for the fourth time in a month.

Sharing a tweet, the health ministry said India marched ahead with another achievement in its fight against Covid-19 with two crore doses administered on Friday and counting. With this, India also crossed the total number of vaccines administered across Europe so far. 

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said this was the fastest pace at which one crore doses have been administered.

"On PM @Narendra Modi Ji's birthday, till 1:30 pm, the country has crossed the mark of 1 crore vaccines, the fastest so far, and we are continuously moving forward. I believe that today we will all make a new record of vaccination and give it as a gift to the prime minister," he said in a tweet in Hindi along with the hashtags "VaccineSeva" and "HappyBdayModiji".

He later celebrated the feat with health workers at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. "Thanks to all health workers. Well done India," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The daily Covid-19 vaccination in the country was over 1 crore on September 6, August 31 and August 27.

On Thursday, Mandaviya called for a major push to the vaccination drive on the PM’s birthday on Friday, saying it would be the perfect gift for him. The BJP has asked its units across the country to help get a large number of people vaccinated on the occasion.

India took 85 days to touch the 10-crore vaccination mark, 45 more days to cross the 20-crore mark and 29 more days to reach the 30-crore mark, according to the ministry.

The country took 24 days to reach 40 crore from 30 crore doses and then 20 more days to cross the 50-crore vaccination mark on August 6, it said.

It took 19 more days to move past the 60-crore mark and took only 13 days to reach 70 crore from 60 crore on September 7, the ministry said. The total number of doses administered crossed the 75-crore mark on September 13.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2.

The next phase of the drive began on March 1 for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specific comorbid conditions. From April 1, the government allowed all citizens above 45 years to receive their doses.

The drive was opened for all adults on May 1 following which it was hit by shortage at several places leading to vaccination centres remaining shut for a day or two at a stretch.