New Delhi:

President Ram Nath Kovind will be administered the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at the Army hospital (Research and Referral) in New Delhi on Wednesday. The President will be getting his first shot as the country’s vaccination campaign has been widened to include people above 60, and those who are 45 or more and suffering from certain medical conditions.

Several prominent political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, have already taken the vaccines.

Rajnath Singh was the first person to get a COVID-19 vaccine at the Army Hospital on Tuesday.

President Kovind had earlier said it was a matter of immense pride that India is conducting the world’s largest vaccination programme. “Both the vaccines rolled out under this programme are produced indigenously,” he had said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday became the first beneficiary in the second phase of nationwide vaccination against the coronavirus. The Prime Minister used the occasion for some heavy messaging as he took a dose of the home-grown Covaxin developed by Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which has been linked to vaccine hesitancy because of its clinical trials status.

India, which has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases after the United States, has so far administered over 1.48 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines since starting its immunisation programme in mid-January, the Health Ministry informed. It also said that 2,08,791 people above 60 or those aged 45-60 with comorbidities have been given first dose of COVID vaccine from Monday 9 AM till Tuesday 1 PM.