The Dalai Lama, the 85-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader, received the first injection of the coronavirus vaccine at a hospital in the north Indian hill town of Dharamshala on Saturday.
After getting the injection, he urged people to be brave and come forward to get vaccinated.
“To avoid serious problems, this injection is very, very helpful,” he said.
Dr. GD Gupta, of the Zonal hospital, where the shot was administered, told reporters that the Dalai Lama was then observed for 30 minutes. “He offered to come to the hospital like a common man to get vaccinated,” he said.
Ten other people living in the Dalai Lama’s residence have also been vaccinated, Gupta said. All 11 received the Covishield vaccine, a version of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by the India’s Serum Institute.
India: Number of new coronavirus cases per day
India has confirmed more than 11 million cases of the coronavirus and more than 157,000 deaths. The country, which has the second highest caseload in the world after the US, began vaccination in January, starting with health care and frontline workers. Earlier this month, it expanded its immunization drive to older people and those with medical conditions that put them at risk.
The Dalai Lama made Dharamshala his headquarters in 1959 and fled Tibet after a failed rebellion against Chinese rule. China does not recognize the Tibetan government in exile and accuses the Dalai Lama of trying to separate Tibet from China.
The Dalai Lama denies being a separatist, saying he only advocates for substantial autonomy and protection of the region’s native Buddhist culture.