BJP workers celebrate on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday in Patna on Thursday.
Photo: PTI
India administered over two crore COVID-19 vaccines until 5 pm on Friday, 17 September, news agency ANI reported, sourcing CoWin data.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aims to set a record of administering the maximum number of COVID-19 vaccines in a day on Friday, which happens to be Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 71st birthday.
India has already administered more than one crore COVID-19 vaccines in a day more than once. The BJP aspired to get more than 1.5 crore vaccines administered on Friday.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a tweet in Hindi, "On the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has crossed the historical figure of 2 crore vaccines in a day, setting a new record."
Mandaviya had earlier in the day urged people to get vaccinated, saying that it would be an ideal gift for PM Modi on his birthday.
Earlier, National Health Authority chief RS Sharma had tweeted, "Celebrating the relentless efforts of India's vaccinators against COVID-19, we have added a ticker to show vaccinations happening in near real-time. We are currently clocking over 42,000 vaccinations/minute or 700/second."
Senior leaders in the party said this would be a befitting reply to all those who tried to create a vaccine hesitancy among the people of the country for political reasons, ANI reported.
Over 57 lakh doses were administered in the country till 7 pm on Thursday, taking the overall vaccination figure to more than 77 crore.
(With inputs from ANI)
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