A shot in the arm

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As India tries to recover from the dark days of the Covid-19 pandemic, the country achieved a new milestone in its vaccine drive. India has successfully administered over 1 crore doses of the vaccine, its highest single-day count so far.

According to the data available on the COWIN portal, 1,02,06,475 doses of the covid-19 vaccine had been administered on Friday.

The vaccine drive in India gathered momentum after the policy reversal in June when the Central government began providing vaccines free of charge to everyone above the age of 18.

The Covid-19 pandemic has tested India’s healthcare infrastructure to its limit. As the country recovers from the horrors of shortages in essential supplies, the threat of the third wave looms and the race to vaccinate the adult population has started.

Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh witnessed the maximum vaccinations this month. In Uttar Pradesh, nearly 2.15 crore vaccine doses have been administered this month so far, followed by 1.3 crore vaccine doses in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra with nearly 1.1 crore doses.

Data suggests that India has managed to fully vaccinate around 15% of the eligible population. India’s vaccine drive is set to get a major push once it starts using Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D vaccine in the first week of October.

This milestone is a remarkable one given the population of the country and the challenges that come along with it. However, the country must not let its guard down at this crucial point. Citizens, governments, officials, and all stakeholders must keep the momentum going and get themselves vaccinated.