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 After a slow beginning in the middle of January, India's
immunisation campaign has covered three-quarters of its 944 million
adults with at least one dose but only 31% with two. The government
wants all adults to get vaccinated this year.
"India scripts history," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on
Twitter. "We are witnessing the triumph of Indian science,
enterprise and collective spirit of (1.3 billion) Indians."
Modi marked the occasion by interacting with healthcare workers and
a security guard at a government hospital in New Delhi. The health
ministry announced musical and other programmes across the country,
and special illuminations of national monuments including a
colonial-era jail.
Nearly 90% of the vaccines administered in India have come from the
Serum Institute of India (SII), which produces a licensed version of
the AstraZeneca drug. SII has more than tripled its capacity since
April and can now produce 220 million vaccine doses a month.
SII has also slowly resumed exports for the first time since April,
when the government stopped all overseas sales to meet domestic
demand as infections rose dramatically.
The World Health Organization (WHO), which relies heavily on India
for supplies to its global vaccine-sharing platform COVAX,
congratulated the country for reaching the landmark.
"India's progress must be viewed in the context of the country's
commendable commitment and efforts to ensure that these life-saving
vaccines are accessible globally," said Poonam Khetrapal Singh,
regional director WHO South-East Asia.
COVAX partner UNICEF also congratulated India and said it looked
forward to "hearing details about the expected timeline and volumes
of supplies to be made" to the global facility.
[to top of second column] |
 Reuters has reported that India has delayed
supplies of the AstraZeneca vaccine to COVAX
https://www.reuters.com/world/india/
india-delays-covid-19-vaccine-supplies-who-backed-covax-sources-say-2021-10-19.
New Delhi has been annoyed by the WHO's repeated
delay in adding India's own Covaxin shot to the
world body's emergency-use listing
https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/
1450574012027920402, something both parties
discussed this week as well as exports.
India has so far reported 34.1 million COVID-19
cases and more than 452,000 deaths, most during
a second wave of infections of the Delta variant
between April and May.
A "sizeable number https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-india/many-indians-skipping-second-covid-shot-despite-record-vaccine-stocks-idUSL4N2RF2G3"
of people in India have not taken their second
dose by the due date despite adequate supplies,
the health ministry said on Tuesday, as new
infections fell to their lowest since early
March.
Daily shots have averaged 5 million this month,
a fifth of September's peak, though states are
sitting on record stocks of more than 100
million as domestic output of the AstraZeneca
vaccine soars.
Despite the current low number of infections,
ministry officials have been urging people to
get vaccinated fast, especially as the ongoing
festival season means family gatherings and mass
shopping, raising the risk of a new wave of
infections.
(Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Lincoln
Feast and Giles Elgood)
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