India Managed Omicron Wave 23 Times Better Than Other Countries: Centre

Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, spoke about India's vaccination achievements in comparison to other countries and the government's proactive management.

Representational Image. (Source: Getty Images)

New Delhi: The proactive measures taken by India has helped the nation to successfully manage the spread of Omicron, which is 23 times better than the world's overall management of the covid-19 pandemic, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday.

Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, spoke about India's vaccination achievements in comparison to other countries and the government's proactive management, news agency ANI reported.

"Threat of Omicron variant has not gone away from India, but we have been able to successfully manage as high as 23 times better than the world's overall management of Covid-19 when it comes to saving precious lives," he was quoted by ANI on its official Twitter handle.

"We provided vaccines to 99 countries across the world... India completed 250 million doses in 145 days. Right now, I'm proud to highlight that we have completed 1.81 billion doses of vaccination," Agarwal said.

We provided vaccines to 99 countries across the world... India completed 250 million doses in 145 days. Right now, I'm proud to highlight that we have completed 1.81 billion doses of vaccination: Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare pic.twitter.com/OJCZhmwuBx

— ANI (@ANI) March 21, 2022

"We gave QR coded digital certificates to every citizen for every covid-19 dose delivered. We have not leveraged technology, we have leveraged human resources in this country, which worked with commitment," he further adds.

India's Covid Vaccination Drive

COVID-19 vaccination for youngsters aged 12 to 14 years began on March 16 this year in India.

The first phase of the nationwide vaccination drive began on January 16, 2021, with healthcare personnel receiving vaccinations. Frontline workers began receiving vaccinations on February 2 of last year.

The second phase of COVID-19 vaccination began on March 1 of last year for persons over the age of 60 and those aged 45 and over who have certain co-morbid disorders.

From April 1 of last year, India mandated vaccination for all adults above the age of 45.

From May 1 of last year, the government decided to broaden its vaccination campaign by enabling everyone above the age of 18 to be vaccinated against the viral disease.

(With ANI Inputs)