Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes Covaxin

Prime Minister Modi was given a home-grown Covaxin produced by Bharat Biotech.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took his first shot COVID-19 vaccine this morning at Delhi AIIMS Hospital, becoming the first one of the second phase of the national vaccination against coronavirus. Home-grown Covaxin produced by Bharat Biotech and the Medical Council of India (ICMR).

"It is remarkable how our doctors and scientists have worked so fast to strengthen the global war against COVID-19," Prime Minister Modi tweeted, referring to a photo of himself taking the first vaccine. Together, let us make India COVID-19 free, "he said.

Prime Minister Modi also urged all those eligible to take the vaccine as the country begins to vaccinate people over the age of 60 and those over 45 with the disease. he was wearing a gamchha/scarf from Assam and nurses from Kerala and Puducherry - Rosamma Anil and P Niveda - handled the dose.

The Prime Minister's immunization was full of signs from the provinces where elections will be held in March-April.  A statement from his office said he had chosen to take the shot early and was taken to AIIMS outside the special traffic limits to avoid disturbance.

In addition to Covaxin, the Pune-based Serum Institute's Covishield, co-produced by Oxford University and pharma giant AstraZeneca is being used in a vaccination campaign that began on January 16. Many vaccines may be approved for use in the coming months, including Russia's Sputnik-V and Russia's ZyCov-D.

Registration is expected to open at 9 am on www.cowin.gov.in and in the Aarogya Setu app and there will be immunizations in some areas as well. India began its vaccination campaign on January 16 aiming to vaccinate three top workers but struggled to resist, releasing 1.43 crore shots so far.

The government hopes to vaccinate 30 crore people by August in the second phase. India reported the second-highest number of cases after the United States at 1.1 crores. Cases have risen in recent days in provinces such as Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Punjab.