“I wanted to set an example by taking shots of a vaccine that is least preferred. I hope this encourages more healthcare professionals to come forward to take the vaccine,” he said.

When the vaccination drive was launched last week, there were multiple speculations on why politicians, especially health ministers, refrained fromtaking the vaccine. “There are rumours circulating on social media that the vaccine can cause side effects but they are not true,” he said, after taking the shot and clarified that he did so in his capacity as a doctor and member of the Indian Medical Association.

Stating that Tamil Nadu has so far received around 10.45 lakh doses of Covishield and 20,000 doses of Covaxin, the Minister said more doses will be received by the Health Department gradually.

So far 51,651 people have been vaccinated in the State. On Friday, a total of 8,704 healthcare workers were vaccinated, including 8,544 people who took Covidshield while 160 healthcare workers received Covaxin. A total of 1,147 vaccination sessions have been conducted for Covishield and 42 sessions have been held across the State. A total of 50,584 people have received their first doses of Covishield and 1,067 healthcare workers have received Covaxin in Tamil Nadu.