Vikrant Shekhawat : Oct 21, 2021, 07:13 PM
New Delhi: India crossed the 1 billion Covid-19 vaccine dose milestone on Thursday. This comes just over nine months after the nationwide inoculation drive started on January 16, 2021. Hailing the collective spirit of 130-crore Indians who managed to pull off the incredible feat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah expressed their gratitude to all the medical health professionals and citizens who made this achievement possible.According to government data, around 75 per cent of all adults have received the first dose of the vaccine and 31 per cent have been administered both doses. Among the states, Uttar Pradesh has administered the most vaccine doses (above 12 crore), followed by Maharashtra and Gujarat.The Centre has planned a series of events to mark the 1 billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. While Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya will release a song on the occasion, the country's largest Khadi flag will be displayed at the historic Red Fort.Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President Jagat Prakash Nadda will visit Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad on Thursday to express his gratitude on the occasion. Nadda will reach Kailash Mansarovar Bhawan at 10.30 am on October 21, where he will review the functioning of the vaccination centre, reported news agency ANI.Despite the vaccination drive picking up pace, opposition parties had questioned the government over its promise to administer both the doses of the vaccine to the country's entire adult population by December.Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said on Wednesday that India has 95 crore adults, according to the last census and it remains to be seen how the government covers all of them in the 70 days left in this year.The Left parties too questioned if the country will achieve the year-end target of vaccinating all adult population against Covid-19 when only 31 per cent of the people have received both doses till now.