'Jab well done': India marks one billionth Covid jab
Staff at a vaccine center in a Bangalore hospital create a colorful floor display to mark India administering its one billionth Covid-19 vaccine dose on Thursday. About three-quarters of adults in the country of 1.3 billion people have had one shot and 30 percent are fully vaccinated, according to government figures.
India administered its one billionth Covid-19 vaccine dose on Thursday as it fights its way back from a devastating surge in cases that brought the health system close to collapse.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the feat as a "triumph of Indian science", but authorities remain on guard for a new pandemic wave.
About three-quarters of adults in the country of 1.3 billion people have had one shot and 30 percent are fully vaccinated, according to government figures.
But hundreds of millions of Indians under 18 -- who make up about 40 percent of the population -- have not had a single shot.
More than 200,000 people died in a devastating Covid wave from mid-April to mid-June. Hundreds of thousands of people were stricken with the Delta variant and many hospitals and crematoriums were overwhelmed.
Cases have since fallen sharply since. Fewer than 20,000 infections are reported each day and much social activity has resumed.
Mumbai, one of the worst-hit cities, recently reported zero Covid deaths in a day for the first time since the pandemic began.
In celebration of the vaccine landmark, Modi paid tribute to India's health workers and monuments in the capital New Delhi were to be lit up in the national colors.
Neighboring Bhutan and Sri Lanka hailed the milestone, and the United Nations Children's Fund representative in India, Yasmin Ali Haque, said it was a "tremendous achievement".
"As Indian families recover from the recent devastating Covid-19 wave, for many this milestone means hope."
Only China's government, which says it has given out more than 2.3 billion shots, has administered more doses than India.
The billion jabs were administered in 279 days despite shortages, which forced the world's biggest vaccine producer to halt exports for several months.
Vaccine exports have tentatively resumed, with officials saying the "pharmacy of the world" will be back in full swing in 2022.
Most restrictions on social activity have been lifted and huge crowds packed markets and malls during India's main religious festival season -- a boost to the battered economy.
