The milestone is a triumph of Indian science, and collective spirit of 130 crore Indians, PM Modi said.
Highlights
- India reached the milestone shortly before 10 AM
- India has scripted history, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said
- PM Modi visited the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi
India has scripted history by reaching the one billion COVID-19 vaccinations milestone mark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today as he congratulated the country's health care workers for helping the country achieve the feat. The milestone is a triumph of Indian science, enterprise and collective spirit of 130 crore Indians, he said.
China is the only nation to dish out more vaccine doses than India, having fully inoculated some 1.05 billion, or 75% of its citizens, as of late September, according to Bloomberg.
India reached the 100 crore vaccinations milestone shortly before 10 AM.
Later while speaking via video conferencing after inaugurating a new building set up the Infosys Foundation at AIIMS Campus in New Delhi, PM Modi said, "This day of October 21, 2021, has been recorded in history. India has crossed the 100 crore vaccine doses mark sometime back. To combat the biggest pandemic in 100 years, the country now has a strong protective shield of 100 crore vaccine doses. This achievement belongs to India, every citizen of India."
"Congratulations India! This is the result of the leadership of our visionary Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted as he officially announced the milestone in a tweet at 9:48 AM.
Earlier today, PM Modi visited the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi and interacted with hospital officials after the milestone was achieved.
PM Modi has frequently praised health workers for spearheading the vaccination drive.
According to the government, around three-quarters of adults in the country of 1.3 billion people have had one shot and around 30 percent are fully vaccinated.
Daily vaccine shots have averaged 5 million this month, a fifth of September's peak, though states are sitting on record stocks of more than 100 million as the domestic output of the AstraZeneca vaccine soars.