The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday congratulated India for crossing the milestone of administering 75 crore anti-Covid doses since the inoculation drive began in January. More than 71 lakh doses were administered on Monday till 7 PM, according to the provisional data available on the Co-WIN portal. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night, the ministry said. According to the 7 pm provisional data available on the portal, over 57 crore people have been vaccinated with the first dose and more than 18 crore with their second. The country has also jabbed more than 99 per cent healthcare workers (HCWs) and frontline workers (FLWs ) with at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine, it said. Mandaviya said the country''s vaccination drive continues to achieve new dimensions of success under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and with his mantra of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Prayas (together with everybody, with everybody''s efforts"."Congratulations India! In the 75th year of independence, the country has crossed the figure of 75 crore vaccinations," the health minister tweeted with hashtags #SabkoVaccineMuftVaccine and #AazadiKaAmritMahotsav.
The WHO''s southeast Asia office also lauded India for accelerating COVID-19 vaccination drive and achieving the 75-crore mark. "WHO congratulates India for scaling up COVID-19 vaccination at an unprecedented pace. While it took 85 days to administer first 100 million doses, India reached 750 million doses from 650 million in just 13 days," Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia, said in a WHO statement. On August 27, India administered a record 1 crore coronavirus vaccines to eligible beneficiaries in a single-day – a first-time feat that was achieved by the country since the commencement of the nationwide vaccination drive began in January this year.“ Crossing 1 crore is a momentous feat. Kudos to those getting vaccinated and those making the vaccination drive a success,” PM Modi tweeted at the time. By September 6, India surpassed the milestone of inoculating Covid-19 vaccine jabs to more than 1 crore beneficiaries thrice in the preceding 11 days at the time, according to data by the Union health ministry.