Over 2.5 crore doses of COVID vaccine have been administered by midnight on September 17 making this the highest single day vaccination tally so far.
In his tweet Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “Congratulations India! India has created history on PM Narendra Modi’s birthday. By administering more than 2.50 crore vaccine doses, a golden chapter has been written in the history of the country, and the world. This day belongs to the health workers.”
He had put out a separate tweet when the 2 crore mark was crossed earlier in the day. According to the Ministry, as part of the ‘Vaccine Seva’ campaign, the Minister visited Safdarjung Hospital and congratulated staff for helping the country reach the milestone.
The World Health Organization’s South-East Asia Regional Office has congratulated India for the vaccination milestone.
Meanwhile, sources in the Health Ministry on Friday said that for India “vaccinating it’s citizens is a priority and export of vaccines will be discussed only after the country’s requirement is over.”
A senior government official explained that the the Ministry is in on-going talks with foreign vaccine manufacturers — Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson — on the indemnity issue to bring in more vaccines into the Indian market.
“We are getting different types of demands from the manufacturers at different times which is one of the reasons why indemnity hasn't been granted to Pfizer and Moderna so far and thus resulting in delay in arrival of foreign made vaccines in India,” he added.
The Ministry has also maintained that India will get about 20 crore doses of Covishield and 3.5 crore doses of Covaxin which will be supplied to stakeholders in this month.
“In October, one crore doses of Zydus Cadila will be given and the Centre has been able to replenish vaccines in the state on time, there is no deficiency of vaccine,” noted the official.
He explained that vaccination for children will be rolled out as soon as researchers give a green signal and noted that there is currently not enough data in the country about the need for a booster dose.
Stating that the festival season remains an issue of concern and that adherence to COVID norms is a must to ensure that India doesn’t face a third wave, the official said instructions were issued by the Health Ministry to State governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to vaccinate the villages on the border areas of Kerala on priority when the COVID cases started rising here.
He said that the Ministry continues to await data on deaths due to oxygen shortage during the second COVID surge in India, adding that “many States are yet to respond on the issue.” The government official added that the Ministry has prioritised vaccine coverage for the population of States due for polls next year.