DHARMSALA, India (AP) – The 85-year-old Dalai Lama, a Tibetan spiritual leader, received the first shot of the coronavirus vaccine at a hospital in the tourist city of Dharmsala in northern India on Saturday.
After receiving the injection, he urged people to show up, be brave and get vaccinated.
“To prevent some serious problems, this injection is very, very helpful,” he said.
Dr. GD Gupta of the Zonal Hospital, where the shooting was administered, told reporters that the Dalai Lama was observed for 30 minutes later. “He offered to come to the hospital as an ordinary man to get vaccinated,” he said.
Ten more people living in the Dalai Lama’s residence were also vaccinated, Gupta said. The eleven received the Covishield vaccine, developed by Oxford University and UK-based drug manufacturer AstraZeneca and manufactured by the India Serum Institute.
India has confirmed more than 11 million cases of coronavirus and more than 157,000 deaths. The country, which has the second-highest number of cases in the world behind the United States, launched its vaccine in January, starting with health care and front-line workers. Earlier this month, he expanded his inoculation unit to the elderly and those with medical conditions that put them at risk.
The Dalai Lama turned Dharmsala into his headquarters in 1959, fleeing 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 and claims that he only advocates substantial autonomy and protection of the region’s native Buddhist culture.