Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today took the first jab of Covid-19 vaccine in Thiruvananthapuram. "Took the first dose of Covid vaccination today. Vaccines provide immunity to diseases. I encourage everyone to get vaccinated as and when it is available. Together, let us overcome this pandemic through scientific methods," Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted.
"COVID-19 vaccination was a good experience. I experienced no pain of even the needle going inside the body. One can barely know when the vaccination is over," he said.
"Unlike other vaccinations, there is no pain of the medicine going into the body," he added.
The Chief Minister appealed to all eligible people to come forward and get themselves vaccinated.
"I took half an hour rest, no physical discomfort has been noticed. Other ministers who took the vaccine jab also shared similar experiences," he said.
Also Read | How citizen data led India’s covid battle
Kerala reported 2,938 new Covid-19 cases and 3,512 recoveries in the last 24 hours, informed the state health department on Tuesday. At present, there are 47,277 active cases in Kerala. The Centre has deputed high-level multi-disciplinary teams to Kerala to ascertain reasons for the surge and coordinate with the State Health Department in COVID-19 control and containment measures.
India on March 1 commenced its second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive to inoculate people above 60 years and those over 45 with comorbidities against the coronavirus.
On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi administered the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi. Several Union Ministers, including Amit Shah, S Jaishankar, Jitendra Singh, Dr Harsh Vardhan have also received their first COVID-19 vaccine jabs.
More than 1.56 crore (1,56,20,749) vaccine doses have been administered through 3,12,188 sessions in the country, as per the provisional report till 7 am today, the Union Health Ministry informed.
Click here to read the Mint ePaperMint is now on Telegram. Join Mint channel in your Telegram and stay updated with the latest business news.