India crosses 100 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses

  • IASbaba
  • October 22, 2021
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India crosses 100 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses

Part of: Prelims and GS II – Health 

Context India completed 100 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday, in about nine months since the drive began.

  • It has fully vaccinated about 30% (291 million) of the eligible population and 707 million have had the first dose.
  • India aims to fully vaccinate about a billion people by the end of 2021 but experts say the drive needs to pick up pace further to meet the target.
  • This milestone makes India the second country to reach the one billion mark – China crossed it in June.problems.

Initial challenges to the vaccination drive in india 

  • Logistical problems
  • supply bottlenecks
  • vaccine hesitancy 
  • a devastating second wave of Covid-19 

Which vaccines is India using?

  • India is using three vaccines – the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab, known locally as Covishield; Covaxin by Indian firm Bharat Biotech; and Russian-made Sputnik V.
  • India has also approved its first vaccine for those under 18. The three-dose ZyCoV-D vaccine is the world’s first DNA vaccine against Covid-19. It is expected to roll out in few weeks. ZyCov-D has been developed with the support of Department of Biotechnology and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
  • The government has also authorised Indian pharma company Cipla to import Moderna’s vaccine, which has shown nearly 95% efficacy against Covid-19. But it’s not clear yet how many doses will be made available to India.
  • Several more vaccines are in various stages of approval.

100 monuments illuminated

  • The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) also illuminated 100 monuments in the tricolour to celebrate the milestone of 100 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses.
  • These monuments include:
  • Delhi: Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb and Qutub Minar 
  • Uttar Pradesh: Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri 
  • Tamil Nadu: Konark Temple in Odisha and Mamallapuram Rath temples

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