India set to cross 1 billion Covid jab milestone today

India is set to cross the 100 crore or 1 billion Covid-19 vaccination mark on Thursday, nine months after the nationwide inoculation programme started to protect the citizens against the coronavirus disease. And the central government has planned a series of events to mark the occasion.

The total vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 99.7 crore on Wednesday, according to the 10.50 pm data from the CoWIN portal, with around 75 per cent of all adults having administered the first dose and around 31 per cent having received both doses.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya appealed to all those who are eligible to get inoculated without delay and contribute to the "historic" journey. He will launch a song by singer Kailash Kher and an audio-visual film at the Red Fort for the occasion. The day is also expected to see the raising of the largest national flag, weighing around 1,400 kg, at the Red Fort, news agency PTI reported.

The government had also planned to make announcements over loudspeakers on trains, planes, and ships. It has also said that villages that have completed 100 per cent vaccination should mark the 100 crore-doses administered achievement by putting up posters and banners complimenting health workers for their role in the exercise.

The administering of one billion vaccine doses - given the unknown and unpredictable nature of the coronavirus, the scale and intensity of the pandemic, and the challenges surrounding manufacturing, distribution, and delivery - represents a significant effort on the part of the government. Only one other country has administered over a billion vaccine doses - China (crossed 1 billion doses in June), which is also the only other country to have a population of more than one billion.