Modi gets second dose of Covid vaccine

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi received his second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi on Thursday morning.

Modi took the first shot of the 'Made in India' Covaxin vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech on March 1.

Allaying concerns about the safety of the jabs, the Indian PM urged all eligible people to get the Covid vaccine at the earliest in order "to defeat the virus".

"Got my second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at AIIMS today. Vaccination is among the few ways we have, to defeat the virus. If you are eligible for the vaccine, get your shot soon," the Indian PM tweeted, soon after receiving the jab.

India has been witnessing a massive surge in coronavirus infections over the past few weeks. On Thursday, India reported over 1.26 lakh new cases in 24 hours. The total caseload now stands at over 1.66 crore.

Covaxin and Covishield, developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII) in collaboration with Oxford University and AstraZeneca, are being used in the country's vaccination drive that began on January 16 this year.

At the launch of the world's largest Covid-19 vaccination programme in January, which aims at eventually inoculating India's 1.3 billion people against coronavirus, Modi urged citizens not to pay heed to rumours regarding the safety of the vaccines.

"The Drug Controller General of India gave approval after they were satisfied with the data of the two vaccines. So stay away from rumours. Our vaccine developers have a global credibility. They will give a decisive victory to our country," he had said.