Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to receive COVID-19 vaccine in phase 2 of inoculation drive: Sources

Sources have said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to be  vaccinated against COVID-19 in the second round of the inoculation drive, according to several media reports. “Narendra Modi will take the vaccine when his turn will come after completion of the first phase,” an official in the Prime Minister’s Office told  Hindustan Times. “He himself said this in his meeting with chief ministers that politicians shouldn’t try to break the queue and only take the vaccine when their turn comes,” the official added. All chief ministers will also receive the vaccines in the next phase of the campaign, which may happen in March or April, the newspaper further reported. As per The Times of India, the second phase will see vaccines administered to 270 million people above the age of 50 and those with compromised immunity or underlying medical conditions that leaves them vulnerable to the novel coronavirus. Modi (70) and most of the chief ministers fall in this age bracket are is likely to be in this batch, a second highly-placed official in the vaccination drive told the newspaper. However, there is no confirmation about exactly when Modi or the chief ministers will be vaccinated. The vaccine drive was launched on 16 January with healthcare workers and others at the frontline of the coronavirus fight receiving jabs of two vaccines: Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. In a recent meeting with chief ministers, Modi had said that politicians should not jump the line and should wait for their turn to get vaccinated. Chief ministers of states such as Haryana, Bihar and Telangana had reportedly suggested that MLAs, MPs and other public representatives should be considered frontline workers and be vaccinated. In the first phase, launched on  16 January , India will be administering the vaccine to around 3 crore healthcare and frontline workers. As on Wednesday, 7.86 lakh beneficiaries have been vaccinated. With inputs from PTI