New Delhi, March 13: The cumulative tally of vaccination has crossed 2.9 crore mark in the country after 9,47,090 vaccines were administered on Saturday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.
“Total 9,74,090 vaccine doses were given till 7 p.m. on Saturday out of which 8,05,014 beneficiaries were administered first dose while 1,69,076 healthcare workers and frontline workers received second dose, as per the provisional report. Final reports would be completed for the day by late night,” the officials said.
The latest figure of inoculation has pushed the cumulative tally of the vaccine doses administered has reached 2,91,92,547.
“Those who have been inoculated include 73,31,498 healthcare workers who have taken the first dose and 42,58,297 healthcare workers who have taken the second dose, 72,96,474 frontline workers who have been administed first dose and 10,53,732 frontline workers who have been given the second does,” officials said.
Besides, 78,66,241 beneficiaries aged above 60 and 13,86,305 aged between 45 and 59 with specific comorbidities have also received their first dose of Covid vaccine so far in the on-going vaccination drive.
Vardhan’s assurance
Meanwhile, while inaugurating the Mycology Advanced Resource Centre (MARC) established in collaboration with the ICMR in Bhopal, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Saturday that the new generation sequencing facility at the institute will boost the pace of genome sequencing of viruses, including the SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes Covid-19.
“I am happy to know that the institute has got the new generation sequencing facility. This system will help faster sequencing of the pathogens, including the SARS-CoV-2, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and other viruses. I am also happy to know that scientists and faculty of this institute, in collaboration with AIIMS Delhi and other institutes, have developed several TB diagnostic tests, some of these are in an advanced technology transfer stage.
“Other facilities like animal imaging system, flow cytometer with sorting, LCMS, automated nucleic acid extraction system will pave the way for research of international standards, including in-vivo drug targeting, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning.”
The minister also laid the foundation stone for the administrative block of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bhopal.
Addressing the foundation ceremony of AIIMS, Vardhan that the Centre is committed to expand the institutes of medical excellence for high quality medical care across regions, which was the dream of former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
“The dream of Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji is being fulfilled with a network of AIIMS across the country for superior healthcare for all citizens. He envisioned to mitigate the regional imbalance in the healthcare management and teaching standards, after long realisation that AIIMS Delhi was overburdened to cater to the entire nation. Therefore, in 2003, he announced the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) under which six regional AIIMS have been set up in various parts of the country,” he said.
Vardhan also appreciated the institute for establishing the Centre for Translational Medicine, a one of its kind facility present in the country.
“I am pleased to know that out of the box thinking of the director of AIIMS Bhopal HAS led to the establishment of the Centre for Translational Medicine,” he said. (IANS)
