India surpasses US with 17.2 cr first doses of Covid-19 administered: Centre

NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr VK Paul on Friday announced that India had surpassed the United States with a greater number of people administered the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine.

Paul stated, “As per the data, the number of people who have received at least one dose of vaccine in India is 17.2 crore. We have overtaken the US in terms of the number of people who have received the first dose of vaccine.”

Dr Paul iterated about requiring more time for achieving higher coverage of vaccination in the country. He said, “When the peak is declining and we suddenly get into some behaviour as a society like in Janaury and February, it (the virus) will come back again in a certain way. We have to buy time to ensure that we achieve high coverage of vaccination.”

Alongside, Union Health Ministry’s Joint Secretary, Lav Agarwal mentioned about the decline in the number of fresh cases of Covid-19. He said, “There has been a continuous decrease in districts reporting more than 100 average daily new cases; 257 districts report more than 100 daily cases.”

 Around 377 districts have been reporting with less than 5 percent overall positivity rate, the ministry added. India’s current Covid-19 cases have been declining with 1,32,364 fresh cases of Covid-19 reported in the last 24 hours, raising the total caseload to 2,84,41,986 as per the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

• Elon Musk Expresses Interest in MSNBC: Another Twitter-like Takeover on the Horizon?
• ISRO Focuses on Microgravity for Advancing Medical Research in India
• India’s Massive Win Against Australia Keeps WTC Final Hopes Alive
• Andaman: Coast Guard Seizes 5 Tons of Narcotics from Fishing Boat
• Heavy Rain Alert in Karnataka and 14 States: Severe Cold Expected in 9 States, IMD Warns