Bengaluru: Karnataka on Friday topped the COVID-19 vaccination in the country by administering 26.92 lakh doses till 9 pm, said state Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar. Lauding the efforts of the state, he said, "I would like to thank all the health workers and other staff who have been involved in this historic vaccination drive. It is a phenomenal effort by Karnataka to administer more doses today than Uttar Pradesh and Bihar which have several times more population."
"It is really apt that this effort coincides with the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has led the war on Covid from the front," added the Minister. The top districts in Karnataka that administered the highest number of vaccine doses are Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) area which inoculated 3.98 lakh doses, followed by Belagavi, which administered 2.39 lakh doses, Dakshina Kannada and Ballari, both of which administered 1.33 lakh doses, followed by Tumkuru, which administered 1.24 lakh doses and Mandya, which administered 1.15 lakh doses.
Bengaluru Urban, Shivamogga, Dharwad, Ramanagara, Hassana, Davanagere, Chikamagaluru and Haveri districts achieved more than 100 per cent of the day's target. With yesterday's performance, total doses administered in the State in September climbed up to 87 lakhs. "We are very confident of crossing the target of 1.5 crore that we have set ourselves for September," said the minister.
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Speaking to reporters, Dr Sudhakar said, "Karnataka has vaccinated 75 per cent of its eligible population against COVID-19, with the first dose and 24 per cent with both doses. Bengaluru is the second district in India to vaccinate all eligible population." Yesterday's vaccination drive was conducted in over 12,000 Covid vaccination centres across the State.
With this, Karnataka has administered a total of 5.12 crore doses till 9 pm on September 17. "We are confident of vaccinating the entire adult population in the State by the end of November," said the minister.
ANI
