Over 143.75 crore Covid vaccine doses administered in India: Govt

New Delhi, Dec 29 (PTI) The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 143.75 crore on Wednesday, the Union health ministry said.

As many as 57,03,410 vaccine doses had been administered till 7 pm on Wednesday, it said.

The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night, the ministry said.

The countrywide COVID-19 vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers started on February 2.

The next phase of vaccination commenced from March 1 for people aged above 60 and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.

The country launched vaccination for all people aged above 45 from April 1.

The government then decided to expand the vaccination drive by allowing everyone above the age of 18 to get vaccinated from May 1.