Oct 21, 2021 - Health

India crosses 1 billion COVID vaccinations milestone

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A health worker inoculates a COVID-19 vaccine dose to a beneficiary wearing face mask of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17. — A health worker inoculates a COVID-19 vaccine dose to a man wearing a face mask of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Beawar, India, in September. Photo: Sumit Saraswat/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Thursday that the country's health workers have now administered more than 1 billion COVID-19 vaccines doses.

Of note: While this is a significant milestone for the country of 1.4 billion, which has been devastated by the coronavirus, only about 30% of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated against the virus, per AP. Roughly 75% have received at least one dose.

The big picture: Case numbers in India have declined in recent months, and pandemic restrictions that had a significant impact on the economy and forced millions of people to rely on government food handouts and other subsidies have eased.

But there's concern the current vaccination rate leaves the country vulnerable to another catastrophic wave like the one that struck earlier this year, per Bloomberg.
Modi's government hopes to have all adults vaccinated against the coronavirus by the year's end.

Go deeper: India approves world's first DNA-based COVID-19 vaccine

Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from Modi's team.

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India crosses 1 billion COVID vaccinations milestone

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