Kharge doesn't want vaccine; 'give youngsters; I'm 70+ and have only 10-15 years to live'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took the first dose of the Coronavirus vaccine at the AIIMS and appealed to those who are eligible to follow suit. Soon after Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik received the first dose of the vaccine with his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar and VP Venkaiah Naidu.

'I merely have 10-15 more years to live'

On being asked when he would take the COVID-19 jab, Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said that the government should provide the vaccine to youngsters who have longevity in life as opposed to himself. "I am above 70 years of age, I merely have 10-15 more years to live," news agency ANI quoted the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha as saying.

Another Congress leader and former Union Minister Milind Deora tweeted saying that entertainers, sportsmen and political leaders from all parties must join in and get vaccinated on camera. Reacting to PM Modi getting vaccinated on camera, Deora said, "This PR outreach is necessary to eliminate vaccine hesitancy. The faster India gets vaccinated, the more lives and livelihoods we save."

Meanwhile, Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij tweeted that he did not need the vaccine. "Today Corona vaccine is starting for the people. Now there should be no hesitation at all. I will not be able to receive a dose as, after a Covid infection, my antibody count is 300 which is a lot. Maybe the trial vaccine I had taken had a role in that. I don’t need vaccine right now," Vij said in a tweet in Hindi.

The government had announced last Wednesday that everyone above 60 years of age and those over 45 years with comorbidities will be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine from March 1 for free at government facilities and for a charge at many private hospitals.

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The Health Ministry also specified 20 comorbidities among people aged between 45 and 59 years who will get the vaccine -- heart failure with hospital admission in the past year, moderate or severe valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, CT/ MRI-documented stroke, diabetes of over 10 years or with complications, hypertension, end-stage kidney disease on haemodialysis, diagnosis of any solid cancer on or after 2000 or currently on any cancer therapy.

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