156.83 Crore Covid Vaccine Administered In India In 12 Months: Rathore

New Delhi, Jan. 16: Upon the first anniversary of Covid vaccination drive, senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Sunday lauded India's efforts on the immunization effort saying that so far 156.83 crore doses have been administered.

The Covid-19 immunization drive began in India on January 16, 2021, and within 12 months, has become the fastest vaccination program in the world. The first dose was administered to then 34 years-old sanitation worker Manish Kumar at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The Lok Sabha member, during a virtual press conference, said that the first dose penetration is as high as 96.7 percent to the adult population.

While addressing the media, the BJP leader also took a jab at the Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav saying that the political leader attempted to instigate people against the Covid-19 vaccine when the immunization drive was rolled-out last year.

"Chhattisgarh Health Minister T.S Singh Deo too made similar statements. There are other political leaders as well such as (Congress's) Shashi Tharoor, Jairam Ramesh, who during the (pandemic) period attempted to instigate people against the vaccination. Leaders of the opposition party did not make any efforts to promote the vaccination program," Rathore said.

While comparing the vaccination efforts of India with other countries, Rathore said that the immunization rate is 3 times more than that of the European Union population. He also mentioned that India's death rate, due to Covid-19, remains far lower incomparison to the developed nations such as the United States.

"11 crore vaccines have been administered to tribal areas. Look at the reach of the program… Due to India's leadership, not only did we prepare (Covid-19) vaccines within 9 months, but also attain permission to roll-out the vaccines and launch the drive wherein we have achieved many milestones," Rathore said.

On September 17, 2021, India administered the largest single day vaccine doses wherein 2.5 crore doses. According to Rathore, the average, since the beginning of the immunization drive, has been 42.7 lacs doses per day. As of the last three months, the average of Covid-19 vaccines has been 66 lacs doses per day.

For the eligible adolescent population, so far 3 crore populations have received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, whereas over 76 crore female population have been immunized against the deadly virus. The BJP leader also stated that as of January 2022, 65 crore, or 70 percent of the adult population have received double dose.

So far, 4 states and 4 union territories namely, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Sikkim, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Ladakh and Lakshadweep have 100 percent single dose vaccinated population.