Health Minister Harsh Vardhan takes first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

at 12:13 pm
Harsh Vardhan
Health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan takes vaccine shot.

New Delhi (NVI): A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi got vaccinated, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan received the first dose of homegrown Covid-19 vaccine today.

The Health Minister was administered the shot at the Delhi Heart and Lung Institute. Dr Harsh Vardhan was accompanied by his wife who also took the first shot of the Covid vaccine.

Harsh Vardhan had on Monday tweeted, “Now that I am eligible to get inoculated, I shall schedule to get vaccinated tomorrow. I urge each & every citizen to get vaccinated at the earliest whenever eligible. It’s the best tool to end this #pandemic.”

Vardhan had praised the Prime Minister and said that he led by a “shining example” as he took the first jab of COVID-19 vaccine at the AIIMS, Delhi.

Meanwhile, all sitting and retired judges of the Supreme Court will also start receiving the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine from today.

The Supreme Court registry has arranged a vaccination facility on the premises in addition to the ones at the government hospitals listed for the vaccination. The cost of vaccination will be as per the Central government’s guidelines.

However, the judges will not be able to choose between Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech, and Covishield, developed by Pune’s Serum Institute of India.

On March 1, the largest vaccination drive in the world also entered the 40th day. According to health ministry data, the cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered since January 16 crossed 1.47 crore on Monday.

In the second phase, senior citizens and people above 45 years with comorbidities are getting inoculated. Supreme Court judges and their families falling in this bracket will get vaccinated in accordance with the guidelines.

The country aims to vaccinate around 27 million people in this phase.

-CHK