NEW DELHI:  Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu has also announced that he has received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine at a government hospital in Chennai, kicking off an expansion of the country's vaccination campaign that commenced in mid-January with healthcare workers.

"I took my first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at Government Medical College, Chennai today. I will be taking the second dose after 28 days," the Vice President, 71,  said on Monday in a tweet. The Vice President appealed to the people to come forward and receive the vaccine to defeat the deadly virus which has infected over 1,11,12,241 people and claimed the lives of 1,57,157 people so far.

"I appeal all the eligible people to get themselves vaccinated proactively and join in the fight against novel coronavirus," Naidu tweeted.

The Vice President took the first inoculation of the Covid vaccine after Prime Minister Modi-- the first prominent leader to take a Covid vaccine shot on Monday, as nationwide vaccination of persons above 60 and those over 45 with illnesses began.

India, which has reported the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the world after the United States, has so far vaccinated more than 12 million health and front-line workers. The country is now expanding its vaccination drive beyond healthcare and front-line workers, offering the shots to older people and those with medical conditions that put them at risk.

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