Administering 220 Crore Doses Of Covid Vaccine In India Highpoint Of 2022
NDTV
A major achievement of the ministry in 2022 was the administration of 220 crore doses of Covid vaccine which has resulted in 97 per cent of the eligible adult population having received the first dose and 90 per cent fully vaccinated.
After two years of the worst phase of Covid pandemic, 2022 saw a new wave of infections driven by the Omicron variant of coronavirus which ultimately subsided, putting India along with the world on the route to normalcy before fresh concerns arose amid rise in cases globally at the fag end of the year.
The health ministry, which was kept on its toes by coronavirus, had to briefly deal with the challenge of monkeypox which had sparked a major scare in the months of June, July and August and also the issue of deaths of children in Gambia and Uzbekistan allegedly linked to cough syrups manufactured in India.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation began a probe in connection with the death of 18 children in Uzbekistan allegedly linked to the cough syrup Dok-1 Max manufactured by Marion Biotech of Noida. The Uzbekistan health ministry has alleged that the children died after consuming Dok-1 Max.
Before Uzbekistan's claims, there were reports linking the deaths of 70 children in Gambia to cough syrups manufactured by Haryana-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals earlier this year. The Drugs Controller General of India, however, claimed the WHO drew a premature link.