- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA on Thursday (21) reached the milestone of administering its one billionth Covid-19 vaccine dose. Prime minister Narendra Modi hailed the feat as a “triumph of Indian science” but authorities still remain cautious about a new pandemic wave.
India was devastated by the second wave earlier this year in which more than a million people lost lives and the country’s health system came under serious pressure.
It has been an impressive turnaround since then and currently, about three-fourths of adults in the country of 1.3 billion people have a minimum of one shot while 30 per cent have been fully jabbed, government data showed.
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However, hundreds of millions of Indians aged below 18, who constitute about 40 per cent of the population, have not received a single shot since the jab for minors is yet to be implemented.
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Cases in India have sharply gone down during this period with the daily infection numbers have plummeted below 20,000 and much social activity has resumed.
Mumbai, the financial capital of India and one of its worst-hit cities, recently reported zero deaths from Covid in a day – something it achieved for the first time.
Modi also celebrated the day of the landmark by paying tributes to India’s health workers. Monuments in New Delhi, the national capital, were also lit up in national colours.
India scripts history.
We are witnessing the triumph of Indian science, enterprise and collective spirit of 130 crore Indians.
Congrats India on crossing 100 crore vaccinations. Gratitude to our doctors, nurses and all those who worked to achieve this feat. #VaccineCentury
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 21, 2021
India’s health minister Mansukh Mandaviya was also elated over the achievement. In a tweet in Hindi, he said, “It would have been impossible to cross the 100 crore immunization mark without health workers. Today the Prime Minister went to RML Hospital and thanked the health workers. I sincerely thank the Prime Minister for his encouragement.”
100 करोड़ टीकाकरण का आँकड़ा पार करना स्वास्थ्यकर्मियों के बिना असम्भव था। आज प्रधानमंत्री जी ने RML हॉस्पिटल में जाकर स्वास्थ्यकर्मियों का धन्यवाद किया। मैं प्रधानमंत्री जी द्वारा किए उत्साहवर्धन के लिए उनका हृदय से धन्यवाद करता हूं। #VaccineCentury https://t.co/ziIuLEtRao
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) October 21, 2021
India’s neighbours like Bhutan and Sri Lanka have also praised India’s milestone while Yasmin Ali Haque, the United Nations Children’s Fund representative in India, called it a “tremendous achievement”, AFP reported.
“As Indian families recover from the recent devastating Covid-19 wave, for many this milestone means hope,” Haque added.
India’s billion jabs were administered in 279 days despite shortages, which forced the country, the world’s biggest vaccine-producer, to halt exports for many months to meet the demand at home.
Only China, which claims it has given out more than 2.3 billion shots, has administered more doses than its southern neighbour.
