New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 175.33 crore on Saturday, the Union health ministry said.

More than 27 lakh (27,47,926) vaccine doses were administered till 7 pm.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022: Akhilesh Yadav’s Jibe Against Yogi Adityanath, Says ‘Our Baba CM is Wonderful, Does Not Know Anything’.

The ministry also said that over 1.89 crore (1,89,07,829) precaution doses have been administered to healthcare workers, frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities.

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

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022: SP Alliance Will Win More Than 300 Seats in UP, BJP Will See Reality on Result Day, Says Shivpal Yadav.

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

The next phase of COVID-19 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 more than 45 years from April 1.

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

The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from January 3 for adolescents in the age group of 15-18 years.

India began administering precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine to HCWs and FLWs, including personnel deployed for election duty and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities from January 10, amid the country witnessing a spike in coronavirus infections fuelled by Omicron variant of the virus.

(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)