India’s vaccination drive against the COVID pandemic was launched on January 16, 2021
In a historic achievement, the cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has surpassed the 100-crore milestone.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the countrymen and expressed gratitude to the country’s scientific community and health professionals for working towards achieving this stupendous feat. The Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya also congratulated the country on achieving this landmark.
Congratulating the country for the vaccination landmark, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO, South-East Asia, said, “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 efforts to ensure that these life-saving vaccines are accessible globally.”
Dr Krishna Ella, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Biotech said, “”Reaching the 1 billion mark of COVID-19 vaccinations in just nine-months is a remarkable achievement for India. Bharat Biotech is proud to have contributed to this historic landmark. This is a unified effort of the Government, vaccine manufacturers, healthcare workers and all the vaccinated citizens of India, making it a true success story of Atmanirbharta.”
Suchitra Ella, Jt. MD, Bharat Biotech said, “We thank the PMO , MOH , NRA , ICMR , academic collaborators , industry partners , stakeholders , suppliers & employees for enabling us to maximise our efforts & deliver Covaxin successfully to India’s vaccination.”
Sharing his views on the same, Dr Rahul Pandit, Director-Critical Care, Fortis Hospitals Mumbai & Member of the Supreme Court-appointed National COVID19 Task Force said, “Today, India has achieved a milestone of administering100Cr vaccines to eligible beneficiaries; the world has taken note of our achievement and that’s truly a feat to be proud of! Of these, approximately 71% have received at least their first dose, and 29% have received both doses. This tells us that as a nation, we have made immense progress and that too in a short span on time. It is only a matter of time before vaccines are made available for children, which will further enhance the nation’s vaccination drive. However, we still need to be cautious and cannot declare victory over the virus. That being said, we are definitely better prepared to confront any challenge COVID-19 poses to us now.”
On the completion of 1 billion vaccination in India by, Ashok Patel, Founder and CEO, Max Ventilator said, “Having successfully conducted 1 billion vaccinations has been a major milestone in our fightback against Covid-19. I would like to congratulate our Central government, the health ministry, the state governments, millions of Health workers and other frontline workers and last but not the least, the companies which managed to ramp up production to such high quantities in such limited time even in the face of formidable challenges. While this is a proud moment for all of us, the vaccine companies rising to the occasion will serve as an inspiration to other Indian healthcare, pharma and medical device industry players. The future of Indian healthcare hereupon seems very bright and promising.”
Sharing his thoughts, Dr Shuchin Bajaj, Founder & Director, Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals said, “India reaching the 1 billion mark so soon after starting vaccination drive on 16th of January. And then increasing the scope of the drive to above 60s and above 45s with comorbidities on 1st of March, and then all above 45 on 1st of April and then for everybody above 18 years on 1st of May, we’ve already reached the 1 billion mark today as of 9:47am. I’m very hopeful that with this speed that we have picked up we will be able to reach our target of all eligible Indians before the end of this year, hats off to everyone who’s been involved in this drive, the Doctors, the paramedics, the Asha workers, have been travelling village to village for this drive. It’s a great achievement in India has showed again, we are the number ones in vaccinations we have huge experience in vaccination from polio to smallpox and now COVID. Very, very heartening news and big congratulations to everybody involved. The digital platform, I think is by far the best in the world. You can get a QR coded vaccination certificate minutes after being vaccinated, you can get your appointments digitally, even the most advanced countries in the Western Hemisphere are giving hand written certificates. So, I think this has been a great achievement, we should all be very proud of the entire ecosystem that has worked for this. it’s a big milestone for us.”
Dr Arunesh Kumar, HOD, Paras Chest Institute & Sr. Pulmonologist, Paras Hospital, Gurugram said, “India is all set to cross its 100 crores Covid-19 vaccination mark this week and even with the current figures, no country other than China has achieved this landmark. As of October 16, more than 28.28 crore people were fully vaccinated and 69.47 crores had received at least one dose, which means 74 per cent of the adult population in India got at least one dose while 30 per cent are fully vaccinated. For a country that faced supply bottlenecks, vaccine hesitancy in the initial period, the 100-crore milestone is a huge feat in itself. Even with India picking up pace in vaccination in the last three months, the road ahead is to fully vaccinate the entire adult population by the end of this year, and to achieve this is an uphill task, at least 90 crore doses needs to be administered between now and December 31, almost as much as was administered in last 8 months which means the same amount in one-fourth of time.”
Rajiv Nath, MD, Hindustan Syringe & Medical Device & President, AISNMA on India reaching 100-crore vaccination mark said, “As India scripts history with India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive exceeding the 1 billion mark, we whole heartedly congratulate the Hon’ble PM, his team especially at MoH&FW as well as India’s countless healthcare workers, healthcare providers & COVID-19 vaccine logistics providers and all those who worked to achieve this noble feat. We are glad we could shoulder a small part of the responsibilities of providing the guns (syringes) needed to fire the bullets (vaccines) for India’s massive vaccination campaign. We feel humbled & honoured to have contributed & helped India administer 1 billion COVID vaccine doses by October. We assure the Govt. that we will always prioritize domestic needs. COVID-19 crisis has shown that the Indian Syringe manufacturers sector can rise to the challenge. Indian Syringe manufacturers extends full cooperation & support to GoI and will do whatever it needs to produce syringes ahead of schedule to ensure success of India’s massive vaccination campaign.”
T V Narendran, President, Confederation of Indian Industry said, “Congratulations to the Government of India, Corona warriors and the citizens of the country for scripting history by reaching the milestone of administering 100 crore COVID vaccine doses. This is a truly inspiring achievement under the committed leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The unyielding efforts and sacrifices made by India’s researchers, doctors, healthcare workforce, administrative teams and police personnel are extraordinary and laudable. This historic mission will help place the economy on a high-growth path and reinforce India’s global leadership role.”
Sanjiv Bajaj, President-Designate, Confederation of Indian Industry said, “Our sincere compliments to the Indian Government for setting a historical record by administering 100 crore COVID vaccination doses. This is a momentous and proud occasion for every Indian, achieved under the visionary leadership of PM Narendra Modi. I would like to felicitate all Corona warriors who have worked beyond the call of duty to help the country combat the pandemic effectively. Indian industry is proud to have been part of this national mission, which opens many new horizons for the country.”
Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry said, “It’s a proud moment for the country and every Indian citizen as India achieves the ambitious target of administering 100 crore Covid vaccination doses. This reflects our nation’s commitment towards collectively combating the pandemic and establishes India as a leader on the global immunization map. India has successfully led global efforts in the pandemic through multiple areas, such as vaccine development, drug manufacturing, and production of essential medical equipment. The far-sighted leadership of Prime Minister Modi in the vaccination endeavour along with many economic reforms announced in this period make India attractive for investments and will catalyze its growth path. CII is proud to have been part of this journey and thanks the Government for including Indian industry in the battle against the virus.”
Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “The milestone of a 100 crore vaccination doses administered is an indication of the success of the government’s vaccination program. Overcoming the challenges of the vast population spread across the length and breadth of our country is an achievement all Indians can be proud of. With the hope and reassurance of protection from disease provided by the vaccine, we can look forward to a return to normalcy! Apollo Hospitals, as the largest private vaccinator, pledges to support the Government in working to achieve the target of vaccinating India’s entire eligible population by December 2021. We are also preparing for vaccinating children and adolescents as and when the approvals are in place.”
Anjela Taneja, Inequality Campaign Lead, Oxfam India added, “India administering 1 billion dosages of vaccine is an important moment in our vaccination drive. The celebration of this milestone shouldn’t overlook challenges faced by marginalised communities in India who continue to face difficulties in accessing lifesaving vaccines. Let us not forget that it is two doses of the vaccine which confer immunity. As of October 20th, only 20.9% of Indians were full vaccinated, against the government of India’s target of getting everyone fully vaccinated by 31st December. The IMF predicts we would, at best, immunize 40%. What the pandemic has taught is that no one is safe until everyone is safe through getting all of its citizens immunized. While today’s push is commendable, we are miles away from meeting this target.”
Kamal Narayan Omer, CEO, Integrated Health and Well-Being Council (IHW Council) said, “India achieving a landmark of 100 crore COVID vaccinations is an extraordinary feat. Such a big achievement in a populous country like India deserves to be written in golden letters. We extend a big thanks to our Prime Minister for this historic milestone. We are also grateful to our central government, all state governments, doctors, paramedical staff, frontline healthcare workers, scientists and vaccine manufacturers. Advanced technology and innovative strategies to inoculate a large population helped in achieving this landmark. India is the first country with such a big achievement for which we all are very proud. We are hopeful that the country will continue to remain a responsible player by providing for its near and distant neighbours in the coming weeks.”