More than 38 million people in the country of around 220 million people are considered fully vaccinated. The government’s goal is to vaccinate 80 million people by the end of this year.
The efforts were initially made more difficult by delivery problems and vaccine skepticism, which is often triggered by incorrect information about vaccines. The vaccination campaign picked up speed after the authorities imposed strict requirements. Since the beginning of October, unvaccinated people are no longer allowed to take the train, use domestic flights or go to shopping centers or restaurants.
After the start of the fourth corona wave in July, the South Asian country is now seeing falling numbers again. Authorities reported 552 new infections and 15 deaths related to the virus within 24 hours on Saturday. A total of more than 1.26 million cases of infection are known, and more than 28,000 people have died. It is believed that the actual numbers are significantly higher.