Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa took his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at Victoria hospital in Bengaluru on Friday. Karnataka Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar, who is also a doctor by education, also took the vaccine under the category of frontline worker category.

After taking the vaccine shots, both Yediyurappa and Dr Sudhakar appealed to senior citizens and all who are eligible to register to take the vaccine at the earliest. They also urged everyone to educate, encourage others and join hands in making India and Karnataka COVID-19-free.

“I took the first dose of Made in India COVID-19 vaccine at Bangalore Medical College (PMSSY). I urge all those eligible to register themselves and get the vaccination at the earliest. Let each one of us join hands in making India and Karnataka COVID-19 free,” said 78-year-old  Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa in a tweet.

On similar lines, Dr K Sudhakar tweeted, “Happy to share that today (Friday), I took the first dose of COVID-19 vaccination at Victoria Hospital. I humbly appeal to all those eligible to get vaccinated at the earliest. Let each one of us educate and encourage others to get the vaccine and join hands in making India Covid-19 free.”

The second phase of the vaccination drive started on March 1, where people above 60 years of age and those above 45 years of age with comorbidities will be eligible to get vaccinated. The first few days of the second phase witnessed some glitches in the Co-WIN portal, which resulted in severe delays. However, the process became gradually smoother after the issues with the portal were fixed.

As of Friday, a total of 2,47,696 people have been given the first dose of the vaccine under the second phase in Karnataka, according to the Department of Health and Family Welfare. The number is further expected to go up as the number of vaccination centres have also been increased.