New Delhi: The number of healthcare workers who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 under the nationwide inoculation exercise has crossed 41 lakh on Tuesday.
"A total of 41,20,741 beneficiaries (till 7 pm on Tuesday) have been vaccinated through 76,516 sessions, including 3,785 sessions held on Tuesday till 7 pm," the Health Ministry said.
Two states, Gujarat and West Bengal, initiated vaccination of frontline workers on Tuesday and total 19,902 frontline workers have been vaccinated till 7 pm, as per the provisional report of the Health Ministry.
Overall, 1,70,585 beneficiaries were vaccinated in a single day on Tuesday and 106 AEFIs cases have been reported on the 18th day of the vaccination drive.
As per the ministry, highest 4,63,793 beneficiaries have been vaccinated in Uttar Pradesh followed by 3,38,960 in Rajasthan, 3,18,735 in Maharashtra, 3,16,368 in Karnataka and 2,98,376 in Madhya Pradesh, etc.
Meanwhile, India registered 8,635 new Coronavirus infections in a day, the lowest in eight months, while the daily deaths fell below 100 after almost nine months on Tuesday.
The number COVID-19 cases stand at 1,07,66,245 and the death toll increased to 1,54,486 with 94 new fatalities, the data updated by the ministry at 8 am showed.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,04,48,406 pushing the national recovery rate to 97.05 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate has dropped to 1.43 per cent.
There are 1,63,353 active Coronavirus infections in the country which comprise 1.52 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed 20 lakh on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, 19,77,52,057 samples have been tested up to February 1 with 6,59,422 samples being tested on Monday.
According to early results of an advanced study published on Tuesday in a British medical journal, Russian scientists say the country's Sputnik V vaccine appears safe and effective against COVID-19. The news is a boost for the vaccine, which governments around the world increasingly are purchasing in the race to stop the devastation caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Researchers said that based on a fall trial involving about 20,000 people in Russia, the vaccine is about 91 per cent effective and appears to prevent inoculated individuals from becoming severely ill with COVID-19.