India clinches third spot in vaccinating citizens against covid

India has the third-highest number of people, after the US and UK, who have received at least one dose of the covid-19 vaccine.

The number of people who have received shots in India total nearly 5.8 million, including 5.3 million healthcare workers and 485,857 frontline workers as on Sunday, the Union health ministry said.

According to the government, 12 states have vaccinated more than 200,000 people each. Vaccinations in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, stands at 673,542.

“In the last 24 hours, 28,059 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 1,295 sessions as of 6:40 pm; 116,478 sessions have been conducted so far. There has been a sustained increase in the number of beneficiaries being vaccinated every day,” the health ministry said in a statement.

As the covid-19 vaccination drive picks up pace, the pandemic appears to have slowed down in the country.

India reported 78 deaths in the past 24 hours, the lowest in nine months. Five states and Union territories account for 69.23% of the daily deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties at 25. Kerala followed with 16 deaths, and Punjab reported five casualties.

Meanwhile, India’s active caseload was at 148,766 on Sunday. The present active caseload comprises 1.37% of India’s total positive cases since the start of the pandemic.

India’s cumulative recoveries stand at 10.5 million. The recovery rate is 97.19%, according to health ministry data.

At least 12,059 new cases have been recorded in the last 24 hours whereas 11,805 patients recovered and were discharged in the past 24 hours.

Nearly 85% of the daily new cases are from six states and UTs. Kerala reported the highest daily new cases at 5,942.

It is followed by Maharashtra with 2,768, while Karnataka reported 531 new cases, the government said.

In a positive development, 17 states and UTs have not reported any deaths in the past 24 hours. These are Haryana, Goa, J&K, Jharkhand, Puducherry, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Lakshadweep, Assam, Manipur, Sikkim, A&N Islands, Ladakh (UT), Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli. The total tally of covid-19 cases reached 10.8 million and deaths touched 155,037 as on Sunday.