India Struggles To Expand Covid-19 Vaccine Drive As Cases Surge

SRINAGAR, KASHMIR, INDIA - MARCH 22: Vials of the Covishield COVID-19 Vaccine, the Indian-made version of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and a syringe are seen at a hospital on March 22, 2021 in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian administered Kashmir, India. India is facing a second Covid wave which saw its sharpest rise in cases this week with 46,951 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, the biggest single-day jump since November 29 and the highest so far this year, taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 1,16,46,081, total infections. 11.1 million people have recovered from the virus so far and 159,967,000 deaths have been recorded. According to health officials, India has administered 4,46,03,841 Covid-19 vaccine shots across the country as of March 21, 2021. The national vaccination drive began on January 16, 2021, across 3,006 vaccination centres. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations praised the programme and said that Indian vaccine production capacity is the best asset our world has. (Photo by Yawar Nazir/Getty Images)