India achieved the landmark milestone of 100 crore vaccinations on Thursday morning. According to Government sources, vaccine doses were administered at 4,30,000 vaccination sites over a period of nine months. Around 4-5 individuals were involved in each vaccination centre. Going by that data, roughly over 20,00,000 workers were involved during this crucial period.
To mark the achievement, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is to launch a song and audio-visual film. On Saturday too, they had launched a song on vaccination by the renowned singer Kailash Kher.
“There were 4,30,000 vaccination sites involved in administering the vaccine doses. About 4-5 people were involved in each centre. If we talk about city-level health centres, around 10 workers were involved in providing the vaccine doses,” said a Government official, who didn’t wish to be quoted.
“The real stars in this entire campaign are Asha workers and the nursing staff. The Asha workers, who were given charge of far flung districts, took cold ice boxes to areas with no connectivity. They would do all the paperwork and later upload the data on the CoWIN platform,” another official said.
“CoWIN played a huge role in enabling the 100 crore vaccination landmark. Each and every dose was recorded on CoWIN. Granular details such as who gave the dose and who received it, were recorded on the platform. No district could fudge the numbers. All the data related to vaccination numbers could be traced live from anywhere,” the official said.
'A stupendous achievement'
Meanwhile, MD and CEO, Fortis Healthcare, Dr Ashutosh Raghuvanshi said, “It is a stupendous achievement for India to reach the one hundred crore vaccination milestone in a record 275 days. Amidst numerous challenges related to supply, logistics and vaccine hesitancy, and a severe second wave this year, this landmark achievement is a salute to the focused, invaluable efforts of our Health Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, who is spearheading the vaccination drive, along with many public and private partners and stakeholders, who have worked hard to spread awareness and vaccinate as many people as possible. Our goal should now be to continue supporting the vaccination drive and focus on ensuring the second dose, for those who have taken the first. Continuing to vaccinate, while following Covid protocols, is the only way to beat the virus and prevent community transmission.”
"Huge congratulations to India for marking yet another milestone -- a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses administered. This extraordinary feat in a short span was not possible without strong political leadership, inter-sectoral convergence, dedicated efforts of the entire health and frontline workforce, and the people themselves. India’s progress must be viewed in the context of the country’s commendable commitment and effort to ensure that these life-saving vaccines are accessible globally,” Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia