India on Saturday registered 38,268 new Covid-19 cases, taking the tally of infections to 3,18,95,385 since the pandemic broke out in January last year. The new cases were 13.47% lower than Friday’s count of 44,643.

The country’s toll rose to 4,27,371 as it recorded 617 deaths in the last day. The number of active cases stood at 4,12,153, while the tally of recoveries reached 3,10,55,861.

Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

The number of vaccine doses administered in India has crossed 50 crore. Union minister Bharati Pawar said the milestone was a matter of great pride, according to ANI.

The minister added that the production of vaccines in the country has increased and this will help the government inoculate people in a better way. “Initially, around 2.5 lakh vaccines were produced per day,” she said. “Today it has increased to around 40 lakhs per day.”

However, the Centre has been facing criticism for the shortages of vaccine doses in India. A Scroll.in analysis in June also showed that there were huge disparities in vaccine coverage among various districts.

Presently, the country is using the Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for its vaccination drive. On Friday, Serum Institute’s Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla said the company hoped to launch a Covid-19 vaccine for children by the first quarter of 2022.

Meanwhile, scientists in England said there were early signs that vaccines may not stop the transmission of the Delta variant. The strain has become dominant worldwide.

Globally, Covid-19 has infected more than 20 crore people and caused 42.77 lakh deaths since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.