About 65.5 per cent of second dose eligible beneficiaries aged 18 years and above have received the second dose of COVID vaccine as per CoWIN portal, the health ministry said on 27 July.

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Responding to a question of Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State for Health said as, on July 25, about 34.04 crore persons have received at least first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. "As on July 25, 2021, 65.5 per cent of second dose eligible beneficiaries aged 18 years and above have received 2nd dose of COVID vaccine as per CoWIN portal," she said in a written reply.

She further said that regular review meetings are held with states and union territories to review all aspects of the vaccination drive, including vaccination dose coverage, among various categories of people and advisories on prioritising the second dose of COVID vaccination to increase its coverage have been shared with states and UTs.

"The government has been providing a free supply of vaccines to states/UTs for administration to prioritised beneficiaries as recommended by NEGVAC. Advance visibility of these allocations i.e. the total doses of vaccine that would be available to a state/UT, are provided to states/UTs 15 days in advance so as to enable states/UTs to prepare plan for acceleration of vaccination coverage while being cognizant of the available vaccines," Pawar said. She said it is expected that beneficiaries aged 18 years and above will be vaccinated by December this year.