58 pc of India's adult population got least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, 18 pc got both: Govt

The government on Thursday said 58 percent of India's adult population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine while 18 percent got both the shots as the total number of jabs administered in the country crossed 72 crores.

Addressing a press conference, officials said India is still going through the second wave of coronavirus infections and it is not over yet. They said 35 districts in the country are still reporting a weekly Covid positivity rate of over 10 percent while in 30 districts it is between five to 10 percent.

Providing data about the number of COVID-19 cases reported from different parts of the country, officials said 68.59 percent of the total infection reported in the country last week was from Kerala.

About the vaccination drive, the government said in Sikkim, Dadra, and Nagar Haveli, Himachal Pradesh all people above 18 years got at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

''Eighteen percent of India's adult population received both doses of the anti-coronavirus vaccine while 58 percent were administered at least one dose,'' an official said.

The cumulative Covid vaccine doses administered in India crossed 72 crores on Thursday, he said.

About resuming physical classes in schools, the government officials said no scientific body of evidence suggests that vaccination of children should be a condition for reopening schools.

However, vaccination of teachers, school employees, and parents is desirable, they said.