Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes "India made" vaccine

The Prime Minister of India tweeted a photo of himself receiving the first dose of an India-made COVID-19 vaccine, which launched an extension of the country's vaccination campaign that began with health workers in mid-January.

The 70-year-old Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took off his mask to smile for the photo, said in a tweet on Monday that he is urging every eligible person to get the vaccine in an attempt to get rid of India of the new coronavirus become.

"Took my first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at AIIMS," Modi tweeted, referring to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital in the capital, New Delhi.

'I appeal to all who are eligible to take the vaccine. Let's make India COVID-19 together for free, ”the Indian leader added.

India, which after America reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world, has so far immunized more than 12 million health and frontline workers.

The country is now expanding its vaccination field beyond healthcare and frontline workers, offering the shots to aged people and people with medical conditions that put them at risk.

Those now eligible to be vaccinated include people over 60, as well as those over 45 who have diseases such as heart disease or diabetes, which make coronavirus infections more dangerous.

The shots are given free of charge at state hospitals and will also be sold at more than 10,000 private hospitals at a fixed price of 250 rupees, or $ 3.40, per shot.

The government said last week that people are allowed to choose their vaccination centers so that beneficiaries can choose the homemade COVAXIN shot or the AstraZeneca vaccine, unlike before.

The vaccination campaign has progressed more slowly than expected due to a reluctance of health and frontline workers to take COVAXIN.

Only about 11 percent of the vaccines opted for the product developed by Bharat Biotech and the state-run Indian Medical Research Council.

Bharat Biotech said efficacy data from a late-stage trial on nearly 26,000 volunteers who took COVAXIN would be available soon.

The company, along with India's drug control, states COVAXIN is reliable and efficient, based on early and intermediate studies.

India has reported more than 11 million coronavirus contaminations and more than 157,000 deaths.