India administers over 10 million vaccines in a day for first time

New Delhi (IANS): India on Friday, for the first time, administered more than 10 million vaccine doses in a single day under its nationwide mass vaccination drive against COVID-19.

This is the highest-ever number of vaccinations achieved in a single day since the start of the drive.

In another significant achievement, India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed the 620-million landmark and presently stands at 621,706,882, as per the provisional report of the Health Ministry.

Hailing the feat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: “Record vaccination numbers today! Crossing 1 crore [10 million] is a momentous feat. Kudos to those getting vaccinated and those making the vaccination drive a success.”

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said: “Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas – This is the same effort by which the country has crossed the figure of more than 1 crore [10 million] vaccines in a day. The tireless work of health workers and PM Modi’s determination to #SabkoVaccineMuftVaccine is paying off.”

In a separate development, India has also crossed the landmark milestone of administering at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine to 50 per cent of its adult population.

India’s dose administration rate was around 1.8 million per day before June 21. However, since June 21, it has gone up to almost  5 million per day.