
<p>TOPLINE: India has administered more than 1 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines, officials <a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1765338" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> on Thursday, a major milestone for one of the world’s largest immunization programs, but concerns remain about the gap between adults who are fully vaccinated and those who have received only one dose.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p><a href="https://dashboard.cowin.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">According to</a>&nbsp;India’s official vaccine tracker, the country has administered 1,000,220,711 doses as of Thursday morning.</p>



<p>The country of 1.3 billion people is now the second in the world to cross the one billion dose milestone after China, which crossed the threshold in June.</p>



<p>Around 75% of India’s adult population has received one vaccine dose but&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-asia-india-6946d0dd95d43975e383d28726af3fe4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">only 30% are fully vaccinated</a>, raising concerns that a large swathe of the population still remains vulnerable to the highly infectious delta variant of Covid-19.</p>



<p>Despite concerns, India’s vaccine rollout has helped curb new infections in the country which was devastated by the delta variant earlier this year.</p>



<p>Speaking at a meeting last week, the head of India’s Covid task force VK Paul indicated that focus will now shift towards ramping up the administration of the second dose.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the milestone by&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1451051712387731458" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeting</a>: “India scripts history. We are witnessing the triumph of Indian science, enterprise and collective spirit of 130 crore (1.3 billion) Indians&#8230;Gratitude to our doctors, nurses and all those who worked to achieve this feat.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>452,811. That’s the total number of Indians who have died from Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, <a href="https://www.mohfw.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to</a> official Indian government data. However, number experts and local media reports have suggested that number is a massive undercount, with some <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/07/20/1018438334/indias-pandemic-death-toll-estimated-at-about-4-million-10-times-the-official-co" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">suggesting</a> the actual toll could be over 4 million.</p>



<p><meta charset="utf-8"><strong><em>By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Tag: 1 Billion Vaccines

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India Hits 1 Billion Vaccine Milestone, But Concerns Remain About Second Dose Gap