The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 34 crore on Friday, the Union Health Ministry said.

A total of 9,41,03,985 persons in the age group of 18-44 across all states and UTs have received their first dose and 22,73,477 received the second dose, it said.

The ministry said 34,00,76,232 vaccine doses were administered as per the provisional report till 7 am, with over 42 lakh (42,64,123) doses being given in a span of 24 hours.

On Day-167 of the vaccination drive (July 1, 2021), out of the total 42,64,123 vaccine doses that were given, 32,80,998 beneficiaries were vaccinated for the first dose and 9,83,125 beneficiaries received the second dose of vaccine, it said.

The ministry said 24,51,539 vaccine doses were administered as first dose and 89,027 vaccine doses as second dose in the age group 18-44 on Thursday.

"Eight States -- Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra -- have administered more than 50 lakh first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the age group 18-44," it said.

The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, the ministry said.