Union Health Minister, wife get Covid vaccine; daily cases on rise in Punjab, 4 other states

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 2

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and his wife Nutan on Tuesday took the first doses of made in India COVAXIN at a local private hospital and paid for the same.

Government ministers and ruling party MPs have decided to take shots at private hospitals at a cost of Rs 250 a dose rather than in government facilities where the service is free.

Vardhan reiterated the safety of the vaccine, saying all doubts should rest now that the head of the government, the Prime Minister, has taken the vaccine for boosting people’s confidence.

“The doubters can be rest assured now that there is no issue with the safety of India made vaccines. I urge everyone to come and take the vaccine when their turn comes,” he said.

Indian cricket team coach Ravi Shastri also got himself inoculated with the first dose on Tuesday and shared a picture on Twitter.

Congress general Secretary Ajay Maken also got vaccinated with first COVID dose. 

Meanwhile, Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat witnessed an upsurge in new cases.The government has advised heightened caution to the states showing a rise in active cases.

Nearly 1.5 crore vaccine doses have been administered against COVID-19 and no new COVID-19 fatality has been reported in 19 states and UTs in the last 24 hours.

India’s total active caseload stands at 1.68 lakh (1,68,358) as the country added 12,286 new cases in the last 24 hours.

The country’s present active caseload now consists of 1.51% of India’s total positive cases.

Nearly 80.33% of the new cases are from 5 States.

Maharashtra continues to report the highest daily new cases at 6,397. It is followed by Kerala with 1,938 while Punjab reported 633 new cases.

Two states, Maharashtra and Kerala alone account for 67.84% of total active cases.