Vaccines against COVID-19 prevented over 42 lakh deaths in India in 2021, said a study published in Lancet Infectious Diseases, which based its findings on estimates of “excess” mortalities in the country during the pandemic.
India began its COVID-19 vaccination drive in January 2021 and as per records released by the Health Ministry, till date, the cumulative vaccination coverage exceeds 196.62 crore, making the programme one of the world’s fastest vaccination drives.
Globally, the mathematical modelling study found, COVID-19 vaccines reduced the potential death toll during the pandemic by nearly 20 million or more than half in the year following the implementation of vaccine drives.
