India has scripted history by reaching the one billion COVID-19 vaccinations milestone mark. The milestone is a triumph of Indian science, enterprise and collective spirit of 130 crore Indians. China is the only nation to dish out more vaccine doses than India, having fully inoculated some 1.05 billion, or 75% of its citizens. India, according to the government, has administered five times more doses than Japan, nine times more than Germany, and ten times more than France. While it took 85 days to administer the first 10 crore doses, it completed the last 10 crore in just 19 days. India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive was launched on January 16, 2021. Initially, the vaccination was opened for Health Care Workers (HCWs) only. From February 2, front-line workers were made eligible for vaccination. The vaccination drive was expanded from March 1 to include persons above 60 years of age and those above 45 years with associated specified 20 comorbidities. It was further expanded to all people above 45 years of age from April 1. From May 1 all persons above 18 years of age were made eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.
India crosses 1 billion Covid vaccination mark
