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As many as 27,38,972 doses of coronavirus vaccines were administered in India in the past 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday.

Of the total does of vaccination on Saturday, 24,80,031 were first time beneficiaries, while 2,58,941 beneficiaries received their second dose of vaccine.

The cumulative vaccination doses reached to 7,59,79 651 till Day 78, the drive which was started in the country on January 16. These include 89,82,974 healthcare workers (first dose), 53,19,641 HCWs (second dose), 96,86,477 frontline workers (first dose) and 40,97,510 FLWs (second dose), while beneficiaries aged over 45 years -- 4,70,70,019 (first dose) and 8,23,030 (second dose).

According to the Health Ministry's reports, the cumulative vaccination figure includes over 6.5 crore (6,57,39,470) first doses, while the second dose numbers have crossed the 1 crore (1,02,40,181) mark.

On Friday, a total of 28,87,779 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 35,624 sessions for the first dose and 2,06,016 beneficiaries received their second dose of vaccine.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on 16 January with healthcare workers getting inoculated and the second phase of Covid-19 vaccination commenced from 1 March for those over 60 years of age and for people aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions, while the third phase for people above 45 years started on April 1.

India recorded 93,249 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the highest single-day spike since September 2020, taking the total tally to 1,24,85,509 on Sunday.

The country has been recording an unabated spike in cases from over three weeks. The daily cases peaked on September 16, 2020, with 97,894 people testing positive for the virus in a single day.

The active cases have now increased to 6,91,597 comprising 5.54 per cent of the total infections, while a total 1,16,29,289 patients recovered in the last 24 hours with the recovery rate reported to be 93.14 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry reports.