COVID-19 vaccinations make new record as India crosses one-crore mark

India administered over one crore COVID-19 vaccine doses on Friday, crossing a new inoculation milestone that was hailed by top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including Prime Ministee Narendra Modi.As of 10 pm, 1,00,64,032 vaccine doses were registered with Uttar Pradesh topping the list of states with 28 lakh-plus jabs. August is India's best month in vaccination coverage; the country has crossed 15 crore doses so far - higher than 13.45 crore doses in July and 11.97 crore doses in June."Crossing 1 crore is a momentous feat. Kudos to those getting vaccinated and those making the vaccination drive a success," PM Modi tweeted.BJP president JP Nadda too lauded the feat. With this, COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the country has crossed 62 crore (62,09,43,580) doses, according to a provisional report compiled at 7pm. The final report for the day would be compiled by late night, the ministry said earlier in the day.A total of 23,72,15,353 people in the age group of 18-44 years have received the first dose and 2,45,60,807 have been administered the second dose of the vaccine since the start of the third phase of the vaccination drive, according to the health ministry.The vaccination exercise - a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 - continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, the ministry said.India, a country of over 130 crore people, began its inoculation drive on January 16, with health care workers getting the shot in the first phase. The net was widened in February to include frontline workers in the list of beneficiaries. In March, all above 60 and the 44+ population with comorbidities became eligible for vaccination. In April, the comorbidity clause was dropped, making all above 44 eligible for the drive. In May, the entire adult population was made eligible for the jabs.The drive suffered a few hiccups with its pace slowing down in May, even as a brutal second wave of infections triggered an unprecedented shortage of hospital beds and life-saving medical oxygen in the country. Some states alleged that they had to put brakes on the vaccination drive due to shortage of stocks, though the Centre maintained enough vaccines were available in the country.With inputs from PTI​