'Huge congratulations': WHO hails India on 1 billion Covid vaccination mark - Hindustan Times

"Congratulations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the scientists, health workers and people of India, on your efforts to protect the vulnerable populations from Covid-19 and achieve #VaccinEquity targets," World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Tweeted.

It took nine months for India to administer over a billion vaccine doses to eligible beneficiaries since the beginning of the inoculation drive in January.

Updated on Oct 21, 2021 01:36 PM IST

Written by Harshit Sabarwal | Edited by Amit Chaturvedi, New Delhi

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday congratulated the central government after India achieved the landmark milestone of administering one billion doses of the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Congratulations, Prime Minister @narendramodi, the scientists, #healthworkers and people of #India, on your efforts to protect the vulnerable populations from #COVID19 and achieve #VaccinEquity targets.https://t.co/ngVFOszcmE
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) October 21, 2021

Another top WHO official joined in. In a statement shared on Twitter, the global health body's South-East Asia regional director Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh said, "Huge congratulations to India for marking yet another milestone, a billion Covid-19 vaccine doses administered."

She added that this extraordinary feat in a short period was not possible without strong political leadership, inter-sectoral convergence, and dedicated efforts of the entire health and frontline workforce.

"India's progress must be viewed in the context of the country's commendable commitment and efforts to ensure these life savings vaccines are accessible globally," Dr Singh further said.

She previously congratulated India on September 13, when the cumulative vaccination had crossed 750 million.

It took nine months for India to administer over a billion vaccine doses to eligible beneficiaries since the beginning of the inoculation drive in January. The Union health ministry said that around 30% of the country's adult population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19 while 75% of the adult population has received at least one vaccine dose.

India is the second country after China to exceed one billion vaccinations. As the vaccination drive is speeding up, the Union government is trying to inoculate the entire population by the end of this year.

On Thursday, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will light up 100 of its heritage monuments in the colours of the national flag to mark this incredible feat.

Meanwhile, the country's caseload due to Covid-19 climbed to 34,127,450 after 18,454 cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, the highest single-day rise since October 14. The total cases include 452,811 deaths, 33,495,808 recoveries and 178,831 active cases.