India has become the first country in the world to reach the 5 million COVID-19 vaccination mark in just 21 days, the Union Health Ministry said as nearly 53 lakh beneficiaries have been administered shots under the countrywide inoculation exercise till 15 January evening.

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The USA, the UK and Israel have reached 5 million vaccinations in 24, 43 and 45 simultaneous days respectively. "The countrywide COVID-19 vaccination program was conducted successfully on the twenty-first day as well," the ministry said. The cumulative number of healthcare workers vaccinated against COVID-19 is nearly 53 lakhs. A total of 52,90,474 beneficiaries were vaccinated through 1,04,781 sessions, as per the provisional report comprising data collected till Friday 6 pm. As many as "3,31,029 beneficiaries have been vaccinated till 6 pm on the 21st day of the vaccination drive," the ministry said, adding, the final report would be completed by late in the night.

The final report would be completed for the day by late 15 January night, the ministry said. One of the highlights of the vaccination process is a link for downloading the certificate which is also a part of the confirmatory SMS sent to the beneficiary post vaccination. The Certificate can also be downloaded by the Vaccinator and District Immunization Officer and handed over to the beneficiary, the ministry said. Total 27 persons have been hospitalized so far which translates to 0.0005 percent of the total vaccinations done so far. No new hospitalization has been recorded in the last 24 hours, the ministry said.

The ministry further said total 22 deaths have been recorded till date and none of these deaths have been causally linked with COVID-19 vaccination. "One new death was reported in the past 24 hours, of a 77-year-old male in Agra, seven days after vaccination. It was a case of shock with pre-existing diabetes. None of these deaths have been causally linked with COVID-19 vaccination," the ministry said.

Total 3,31,029 beneficiaries who have been vaccinated on 15 January 6 pm include 29,229 from Bihar, 12,992 from Kerala, 23,291 from Karnataka, 1,104 from Madhya Pradesh, 35,172 from Maharashtra, 6,258 from Tamil Nadu, 8,038 from Delhi, 27,862 from Gujarat, 53,959 from Uttar Pradesh and 17,329 from West Bengal, according to the provisional report.