DHARMSALA, India (AP) – 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 Dharmsala on Saturday.
After he received the injection, he urged people to come forward, be brave, and get vaccinated.
“To avoid serious problems, this injection is very, very helpful,” he said.
Dr. GD Gupta of 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 eleven received the Covishield vaccine, which was developed by the University of Oxford and the British drug company AstraZeneca, and manufactured by the Indian Serum Institute.
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, rolled out its vaccination program in January, starting with health care and frontline workers. Earlier this month, it expanded its vaccination urge to older people and those with medical conditions that put them at risk.
The Dalai Lama made Dharmsala his headquarters in 1959 and fled Tibet after a failed uprising 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.