India carried out a record 30.39 lakh Covid-19 vaccinations on Monday, taking the total number of vaccines administered so far to over 3.29 crore. Meanwhile, there was a slight drop in the number of fresh cases reported in the last 24 hours to 24,492, which is lower than 26,291 reported on the previous day.

The total number of active cases in the country went up to 2,23,432, which was 1.96 per cent of 1.14 crore total confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic early last year. As many as 1,58,856 people, including 131 persons on Monday, have succumbed to the infection so far.

Covid-19: India achieves landmark in Covid-19 vaccination drive

Over 1,000 daily cases

Maharashtra, with 15,051 fresh Covid-19 cases, accounted for nearly 61 per cent of the new cases reported in the last 24 hours. Punjab, with 1,818, and Kerala with 1,054 cases were the other two States that reported over 1,000 daily cases on Monday.

A number of States, including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Haryana, have reported a spike in Covid cases.

India must ensure public trust in Covid vaccine is not eroded

On Monday, the States and Union Territories administered as many 26.27 lakh vaccine shots as first dose as well as over 4.12 lakh second dose to beneficiaries. Rajasthan (31.51 lakh), Maharashtra (28.59 lakh), West Bengal (26.08 lakh), Uttar Pradesh (25.89 lakh) and Gujarat 24.99 lakh) are among the States that have carried out maximum number of vaccinations so far.

Published on March 16, 2021