India Covid-19 vaccination coverage: 71.24 cr got first dose, 30.06 cr get second dose

New Delhi, Oct 23: The Union Health Ministry on Saturday said that 76 percent of the eligible population has received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccination while 32 percent have received the second dose.

"So far, 71.24 crore first doses, covering 76 percent of the eligible population, and 30.06 crore second doses, covering 32 percent of the eligible population, have been administered the Covid vaccines," the health ministry said in a statement.

The central government urged the states and union territories to ramp up efforts to administer the second dose after their interval period has been over.

In an attempt to accelerate the coverage, it had advised the states and Uts to access line list of due beneficiaries from Co-WIN portal for preparing district-wise second dose administration plan involving district magistrates for execution in a time-bound manner, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said.

"States and UTs were also advised to identify and prioritize districts having low coverage for focused action and explore requirement for mobilization efforts, addressing local challenges, need for additional COVID Vaccination Centres and improving access in rural areas. They were also requested to share their strategies to enhance second dose coverage," the press release from the health ministry said.

Manohar Agnani, Additional Secretary (Health), and other senior officials of the health ministry were present in the meeting along with the principal secretary (Health), additional chief secretary (Health) and state surveillance officer of the states/UTs.

Meanwhile, India surpassed 100-crore Covid-19 vaccine dose landmark on Thursday.