Vaccination milestone

India has become the only second country in the world to administer 100 crore vaccine doses in record time. The milestone was achieved on October 21. Around 70,76,91,643  (75 percent) of all adults have been administered the first dose and around 29,16,61,794 (31 percent) have received both doses. India launched the vaccination drive on January 16 for healthcare workers. On March 1, the vaccination drive was opened for vulnerable groups — all above 60 years and those above 45 years with comorbidities. On April 1, vaccination for people above 45 years was launched. On May 1, India expanded its vaccination coverage to 18 plus group. According to official data, eight states have crossed the 6-crore mark (cumulative vaccinations). These include Uttar Pradesh (12.08 crore), Maharashtra (9.23 crore), West Bengal (6.82 crore), Gujarat (6.73 crore), Madhya Pradesh (6.67 crore), Bihar (6.30 crore), Karnataka (6.13 crore), and Rajasthan (6.07 crore). Prime Minister Narendra Modi said administering 100 crore vaccine doses was a difficult task but an extraordinary feat. Congratulating the vaccinators, Modi said that the entire vaccination program of India has been `science-born, science-driven, and science-based. India rose to the occasion despite minimal facilities in the field of vaccination.  Everyone was questioning India’s capabilities given the limited resources. Will India be able to fight this global pandemic? From where will India get the money to buy so many vaccines? When will India get the vaccine? Will the people of India get the vaccine or not? Will India be able to vaccinate enough people to stop the pandemic from spreading? These were some of the questions raised when pandemic hit the country. The government of India supported the states and union territories by providing them vaccines free of cost. More than 102.4 crore vaccine doses were provided to states and UTs free of cost. Over 10.78 Cr vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs. The active caseload has fallen below the two lakh mark, which is now the lowest in 229 days. Active cases presently constitute 0.52% of the country’s total positive cases. The weekly positivity rate is at 1.34%. It has remained less than 3% for the last 117 days now. The daily positivity rate is reported to be 1.10%. The daily positivity rate has remained below 3% for the last 51 days and below 5% for 134 consecutive days now. The testing capacity across the country continues to be expanded. India’s recovery rate stands at 98.15%. The recovery rate is currently at its highest peak since March 2020. Jammu and Kashmir has become only the second state/union territory in the country to inoculate the highest number of people against COVID 19. More than 43 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated. Himachal Pradesh has vaccinated 102.8 percent population with the first dose and 52. 9 percent with the second dose. Over 52 lakh people in the 18-45 age group have to be inoculated. In the 45 plus group, nearly 29 lakh people are to be vaccinated in Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir has become one of the first states and union territories to start vaccinating pregnant women.  Jammu and Kashmir government opened a vaccination window for pregnant women soon after the centre gave a go-ahead. Jammu and Kashmir has earned praises across the country for its robust vaccination drive. Even the Bombay High Court asked the central government to look at the door-to-door vaccination programme carried out successfully by Jammu and Kashmir.