UPSC Articles
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
