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    NRN Murthy & Sudha Murty get Covishield jab; Uday Kotak says 1st shot was 'smooth'; Biocon boss calls vaccine a booster dose

    Synopsis

    Ravi Shastri & Kamal Haasan also got their first dose of Covid vaccine.

    India's inoculation drive entered its second phase on Monday in which the coverage was expanded to include everyone above 60 and those over 45 with co-morbidities. (In pic, left to right - clockwise: Uday Kotak, Ravi Shastri, PM Narendra Modi and NRN Murthy)Agencies
    India's inoculation drive entered its second phase on Monday in which the coverage was expanded to include everyone above 60 and those over 45 with co-morbidities. (In pic, left to right - clockwise: Uday Kotak, Ravi Shastri, Kamal Haasan and NRN Murthy)
    India took a step forward in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic on Monday as it began the process of administering the vaccine to citizens. With some help from the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech's 'Covaxin' - developed with the help of the Indian Council of Medical Research and National Institute of Virology - and 'Covishield' which was jointly processed by the Oxford University, British-Swedish company AstraZeneca, and manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII) in Pune, the country found hope as pictures of people taking the shots surfaced. The inoculation drive entered its second phase on Monday in which the coverage was expanded to include everyone above 60 and those over 45 with co-morbidities.

    Ever since the roll-out of the biggest vaccination programme of the world on January 16, several corporate India veterans, leaders of the nation and other well-known personalities have shown confidence in the medical advancements.

    From Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was one of the first to take the shot at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences, to Infosys founders, and Team India coach Ravi Shastri, several prominent names have come forward and taken their first jab of the Covid vaccine.

    Kotak Mahindra Bank CEO began the new month of March on a positive note, by taking his first vaccine shot on Tuesday morning. Sharing a picture of himself on Twitter taking the jab, the 61-year-old Uday Kotak called the experience painless and 'smooth'.


    Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon Limited, also decided to trust the advances made by Covishield, and took her first shot on Monday. She took the jab at world-renowned cardiac surgeon Dr Devi Shetty's Bangalore-based Narayana Health (NH).

    The 67-year-old biotech boss said that the process was painless, and she didn't experience any injection-related side-effects. She further called it a booster dose as she had contracted the infection six months ago.

    Urging 'eligible' people to get vaccinated, Mazumdar-Shaw stressed on the need to keep the country safe. "Feel safe & protected," she emphasised.


    Soon after, reports of Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy and philanthropist-wife Sudha Murty taking their first Covishield shot started coming in. In an exclusive interaction with ET, the septuagenarian power-couple said that they went to the NH hospital in Bengaluru after getting registered on Monday, and will visit for their second dose 28 days later.

    The Bengaluru-based couple will follow experts' advice for stepping out after completing the two-course vaccination, but will continue to wear the mask.

    Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan also got his Covishield vaccine, alongside Dr Shetty who was one of the first doctors to get the jab.

    During the weekend, RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka confirmed that he took his first official Covishield vaccine over two weeks ago.

    The 63-year-old businessman called the jab an 'almost painless prick', but experienced some side-effects like minor fever and headache for some time. He further revealed that he felt completely normal in 48 hours.

    Further urging the people to take the vaccine, Goenka asked people to not hesitate taking the shot, and called it a life saver. "Most others had no after effects at all," he wrote.


    In mid-January, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla had shared a 16-second video on Twitter, where he was seen being administered the Covishield vaccine by one of the healthcare workers. "It brings me great pride that Covishield is part of this historic effort, and to endorse its safety and efficacy," he wrote.


    Alongside a picture of himself getting the vaccine shot, Ravi Shastri thanked the staff at the Apollo Hospital, Ahmedabad, for their co-operation and support. The 58-year-old said that he was 'extremely impressed with the professionalism' shown by the Apollo team.

    It is not immediately known whether any other member of the Indian team's support staff was inoculated. The Indian cricket team is locked in a Test battle against England in Ahmedabad. The fourth and final Test in the series, which the hosts are leading 2-1, will start at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday.


    Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder and veteran actor Kamal Haasan also took to social media to confirm that he received his first Covid vaccine shot at Sri Ramachandra Hospital in Chennai.

    Accompanied with a picture of him getting vaccinated, the 66-year-old actor-politician urged people to get vaccinated for the sake of themselves and others. His message, though, had subtle political undertones as he hinted at the forthcoming Assembly elections on April 6 with his tweet "Immunisation of the body immediately (and) vaccination against corruption next month. Get ready."


    The leaders of the country weren't far behind in getting their vaccination in the second phase.

    Earlier on Monday morning, PM Modi took his first dose of Covaxin at All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. Soon after receiving the first shot, he took to the micro-blogging site to share an image of himself. "Remarkable how our doctors and scientists have worked in quick time to strengthen the global fight against COVID-19," his tweet read.


    According to various reports, Modi's first words after getting the jab were, "Vaccine laga bhi diya? Pataa bhi nahin chala!". (Already done? I didn't feel a thing).


    The Vice-President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu, also got his first shot at the Government Medical College in Chennai, on Monday. He will take the second dose after 28 days.


    The doctors from the Medanta hospital in Gurugram administered the first shot of the Covid vaccine to Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah on Monday. He had tested positive for Covid in August last year.

    On Tuesday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and his wife, Nutan Goel, took the first dose of vaccine at the Delhi Heart and Lung Institute.


    Appealing people to get vaccinated for a #CovidFreeOdisha, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik he said that he was grateful to the scientists and health workers for their race against time to deliver the vaccines.


    The COVID-19 vaccines - Covaxin and Covishield - have been made available to the general public.


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