India inoculates 8 million people against COVID-19 – Health Ministry

India inoculates 8 million people against COVID-19 – Health Ministry

(Sputnik/NAN)

More than eight million people in India have received vaccines against the Coronavirus (COVID-19) since the start of the mass vaccination campaign.

The Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Sunday.

According to the ministry, a total of 8,263,858 Indians have been vaccinated, with 296,211 of them receiving the shots over the past 24 hours.

On Jan 16, India started its vaccination campaign, using the domestically-manufactured Covieshield vaccine, developed jointly by UK pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the Oxford University, and homegrown Covaxin.

The first wave of vaccinations, intended for health care and essential workers, is expected to cover some 30 million people.

The second wave, inoculating people over the age of 50, may cover some 270 million.

India is in second place in the world in the number of people infected with the coronavirus.

The country has confirmed over 10.6 million COVID-19 cases, with 155,642 deaths, according to the latest data from the health ministry.

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