‘What an achievement’: US lawmakers hail India as it achieves 100-crore COVID-19 vaccine milestone

Washington: Top United States lawmakers have congratulated India after the cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country surpassed the 100-crore milestone , saying India’s success will help the world defeat the pandemic. Congressman Gregory Meeks, Chairman of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday said: “Congratulations to India on reaching this important milestone in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. As a global leader in pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing, India’s success will help the world defeat this pandemic,” he said. “Great to see that India has reached 1 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccination. What an achievement!” Senator Steve Daines from Montana said. Congresswoman Robin Kelly said India has now administered more than one billion doses of the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine. “This is a promising milestone. Vaccination rates across the world are an important factor in our global recovery from this pandemic,” she said. The New York Times said the billion-dose milestone represented a turnaround in a vaccination drive that got off to a slow start, as India’s governing party prioritised elections and took up a lax attitude in tackling the virus, continuing to hold crowded political rallies and allowing religious festivals to take place even as cases surged. Wishes also poured in for India from the World Health Organisation and the leadership of Israel, Bhutan and Sri Lanka along with other countries, after it scripted history on Thursday with the cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country surpassing the 100-crore milestone. Vaccine Maitri is a humanitarian initiative undertaken by the Indian government to provide COVID-19 vaccines to countries around the world. The government started providing vaccines from 20 January. India has so far delivered around 66.3 million doses of vaccines to 95 countries, including Canada, the UK, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Nepal, South Africa, Ukraine and Bahrain.