Industrialist Ratan Tata takes first shot of Covid-19 vaccine

Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata on Saturday hoped everyone can be immunised and protected soon from the coronavirus pandemic, having got himself vaccinated.

Tata in a social media post praised the process of vaccination, describing it as "effortless and painless".

"Very thankful to have gotten my first vaccination shot today. It was effortless and painless," he said.

Having got vaccinated at a time when the number of COVID-19 cases are rising in India, Tata said, "I truly hope everyone can be immunised and protected soon."

India had recorded 23,285 cases of coronavirus infection in a day, the highest in around 78 days, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,13,08,846, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India has crossed 2.80 crore with 18.40 lakh jabs given on Friday till the evening, the ministry had said.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated, and vaccination of the frontline workers started from February 2, 2021.

The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced on March 1, for those who are above 60 years of age and for people aged 45 and above with specified comorbid conditions.