New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 125.65 crore on Thursday, the Union health ministry said.

According to the ministry, 84.3 per cent of the country's adult population have been administered the first dose of the vaccine, while 49 per cent have received the second dose.

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More than 66 lakh (66,21,382) vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm on Thursday.

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

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According to the government's data, 59.32 lakh vaccine doses on an average were administered per day in November, compared to 19.69 lakh doses per day in May. Besides, 55.77 lakh doses on an average were administered per day in October, 78.69 lakh in September and 59.29 lakh in August.

According to the data, while 6.1 crore doses were administered in May, the number went up to 17.29 crore in November.

The countrywide Covid vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with the healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of the frontline workers (FLWs) started from February 2.

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

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

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

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)