First dose of Covid-19 vaccine is 96.6% effective in preventing death: Govt

ICMR DG Dr Balram Bhargava said on Thursday that Covid-19 vaccine is 96.6 per cent effective in preventing death after first dose while it prevents death by 97.5 per cent after second dose. 

Meanwhile the health ministry on Thursday said 58 per cent of India's adult population has received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine while 18 per cent got both the shots as the total number of jabs administered in the country crossed 72 crore.

The health officials said India is still going through the second wave of coronavirus infections and it is not over yet.

They said 35 districts in the country are still reporting a weekly Covid positivity rate of over 10 per cent while in 30 districts it is between five to 10 per cent.