India administers record 2.5 cr vaccine jabs on PM Modi's birthday

NEW DELHI: On the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday, India administered a record 2.5 crore COVID-19 jabs by midnight on September 17 making this the highest single-day vaccination tally so far.

In a remarkable feat, the country vaccinated more than the average daily total of the past month. According to the central government, it's a number that equals the entire population of Australia, is two-thirds the population of Canada, and five times the entire population of New Zealand.

In his tweet, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, “Congratulations India! India has created history on PM Narendra Modi’s birthday. By administering more than 2.50 crore vaccine doses, a golden chapter has been written in the history of the country, and the world. This day belongs to the health workers.”

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The World Health Organization’s (WHO) South-East Asia Regional Office also congratulated India on the largest vaccination drive

Taking to twitter PM Modi said “ Every Indian would be proud of today’s record vaccination numbers. I acknowledge our doctors, innovators, administrators, nurses, healthcare and all front-line workers who have toiled to make the vaccination drive a success. Let us keep boosting vaccination to defeat COVID-19.”

India's previous vaccination peak of 14.1 million was reached on Aug. 31, with a daily average of 7 million doses in the last 30 days.

As reported, the Ministry of Health's priority will be to vaccinate its citizens first and exporting of the vaccine will be discussed once the requirement within the country is over. India which stopped COVID-19 vaccine exports in April this year now has the capacity to produce two billion doses per year.

With more than 62 per cent of its 944 million adults getting the first dose and about 21% fully vaccinated, India is aiming towards administering at least one dose to nearly all the adults by the first half of the next month.

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