India surpassed US, 32 crore vaccinated, Moderna vaccine gets nod

India has taken a distinct lead in total vaccine doses administered in the world. India surpassed the US and took 163 days to reach the 32 crore benchmark. The US took 193 days.Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday Lav Agrawal, JS,in the health ministry said that  a total of 27.27crore people covered with the first dose of vaccine and 5.84 crore people covered with the second dose of vaccine. From May 1 to June 24, 56% of the Covid-19 vaccine doses were given in rural areas, 44% in urban areas, he said.

Agarwal  further said, there has been a continuous decline in cases since India reported a peak, including a progressive decrease in cases in districts. The health ministry officials also confirmed approval for Moderna Covid-19 vaccine by India's drug controller DCGI. "New drug permission has been granted to Moderna, the first internationally developed vaccine. This new drug permission is for restricted use. There are four vaccines now Covaxin, Covishield, SputnikV and Moderna," they said.