Covid cheer: 8.5 million jabs; Daily cases below 50,000

India’s vaccinations exceeded 8.5 million as of 11 PM on the first day of the country’s new inoculation regime on Monday, as many states went into mission mode. That’s one of the highest figures globally for daily jabs. Madhya Pradesh led with nearly 1.67 million doses. The final count is likely to be higher. The day also saw the Covid case count fall below 50,000 for the first time in three months. Many states, however, continue to struggle with a high daily caseload and experts warn that a third wave may be imminent as the country begins opening up.