The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic claimed a record 2,023 lives in the last 24 hours with fresh cases of infection shooting past 2.95 lakh, despite India administering 13 crore doses of the vaccine in just 95 days, as against 101 days for the UK.

With 2,95,041 fresh infections, India’s tally of Covid-19 cases reached 1,56,16,130 on Wednesday, while the death toll increased to 1,82,553, according to the Union health ministry. Registering a steady increase for the 42nd day in a row, the active cases have increased to 21,57,538, comprising 13.82 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate has dropped to 85.01 per cent.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,32,76,039, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.17 per cent, the ministry says.

The total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has reached 13,01,19,310 with 29,90,197 doses being given in a span of 24 hours, according to the ministry. Eight states – Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala – accounted for 59.33 per cent of the total doses given so far in the country.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated and vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) starting from February 2. The next phase of Covid-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 for those over 60 years and for people aged 45 and above with specified comorbid conditions. India launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 from April 1.

After the second wave of the pandemic began storming the country, the government on Monday decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 eligible to be vaccinated from May 1.

India's Covid-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5, and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of 1.50 crore on April 19.