Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today congratulated his countrymen as India achieved the major milestone of “one billion” Covid-19 vaccinations this morning.
“India scripts history. We are witnessing the triumph of Indian science, enterprise and collection spirit of 130 crore Indians,” the premier tweeted today.
He congratulated India on crossing 100 crore Covid-19 vaccinations and expressed gratitude to doctors, nurses and all who worked to achieve the feat.
The achievement comes just over nine months after the nationwide inoculation drive started on January 16, 2021.
According to official statistics, 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 India’s milestone comes months after a huge spike in cases in April and May, when more than 400,000 infections and 4,000 deaths were reported per day and the country’s health infrastructure was overwhelmed, according to media reports.
India’s health ministry data shows that the Covid-19 has now fallen sharply with less than 15,000 infections per day, and most activity has returned to normal.
Mumbai, where cases peaked in the second surge, recently reported zero deaths in a day for the first time since the pandemic began, reports said.
