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New Delhi (AFP)
India vaccinated 10 million people against COVID-19 in a single day, a record number, the authorities of the Asian giant that is trying to fight a new wave of the epidemic announced on Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed this “memorable feat” carried out on Friday in this country of more than 1.3 billion people, the second most populous in the world.
“Congratulations to those who were vaccinated and to those who have made this campaign a success,” Modi reacted on Twitter.
The Indian government, much criticized after a brutal expansion of the epidemic that caused more than 200,000 deaths in April and May, hopes to vaccinate 1.1 billion people before the end of 2021. But this goal is running into obstacles due to shortages and clerical errors.
Since the vaccine was launched in January, only 15% of the population has been immunized.
Despite the warnings of experts, almost all restrictions have been lifted and the number of infections has risen sharply –46,000 new cases on Saturday – which is saturating health infrastructures.
India is one of the countries most affected by the coronavirus, with more than 32 million confirmed cases and more than 437,000 deaths.
© 2021 AFP
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