First person to receive COVID-19 vaccine in India urges everyone to 'go for it'
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Manish Kumar, who received the shot at Delhi’s All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), said that “everyone should go for it”
On Saturday - January 16, India began the world’s largest immunisation programme against COVID-19. A sanitation worker become the country’s first person to receive the vaccine on Saturday.
Manish Kumar, who received the shot at Delhi’s All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), said that “everyone should go for it”.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the vaccination drive on Saturday to bring down the numbers in the world’s second hardest hit country.
AIIMS is one of 3,006 vaccination centres set up by the government across the country.
"The vaccine will give me strength and motivation to serve my hospital which has been at the forefront of taking care of coronavirus patients," Kumar said.
"Since I'm feeling relieved after taking the vaccine, I think everyone should go for it”, Reuters reported him as saying.
In the first vaccination drive, India is prioritising frontline workers including nurses and doctors.
"The disease separated people from their families, kept mothers away from their children, and those who died of the disease couldn't even get a final goodbye from their families," Modi said in an emotional address.
Modi’s top coronavirus advisor, along with AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria also received the jab. India’s Health and Family Welfare Minister Harsh Vardhan was also present at the spot.
Also read: Coronavirus in India: 165,714 people vaccinated today, says health ministry
India is the world’s second-most populous country with 1.4 billion people. Around 10.5 million people have been affected by COVID-19 in the country. 151,000 people have succumbed to the virus.
India is currently deploying two vaccines - one based on Oxford/AstraZeneca, and the other developed by India’s Bharat Biotech. People will not be able to choose the vaccine they want.
Both of these vaccines are being produced in India, with the goal of inoculating 30 million healthcare workers.