Eight months after rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine drive, almost 25% of India's adult population has been fully vaccinated against the deadly virus.
According to provisional data, more than 53 lakh vaccine doses were administered on Tuesday, taking the cumulative number to 87.59 crores.
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With Tuesday’s vaccinations, 68% of the estimated adult population has received their first dose and 24.61% have got both their shots.
It's an important landmark. Data shows that vaccine effectiveness in preventing death enhances after the second dose, offering near-total protection of 97.5% against severity and death.
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According to latest official data, four large states – Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat – have conducted more than 6 crore cumulative vaccinations. Three of these large states have a second dose coverage higher than national average: Gujarat (40%), Madhya Pradesh (27%) and Maharashtra (26%).
Uttar Pradesh, which has conducted the maximum cumulative vaccinations, has, however, administered both doses to just 13.34% of the adult population.