DHARMSALA, India (AP) – The Dalai Lama, the 85-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader, received his first injection of the coronavirus vaccine on Saturday at a hospital in the mountainous city of Dharmsala in northern India.
After receiving the injection, he urged people to come forward, be brave and get vaccinated.
“To avoid some serious problems, this injection is very, very useful,” he said.
Dr. GD Gupta, of the Zonal Hospital, where the injection 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 other people living in the Dalai Lama’s residence were also vaccinated, said Gupta. All eleven received the Covishield vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, based in the United Kingdom, and manufactured by the Indian Serum Institute.
India confirmed more than 11 million cases of the 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 vaccination campaign in January, starting with healthcare professionals and the front line. Earlier this month, it expanded its vaccination campaign for elderly people and people with medical conditions that put them at risk.
The Dalai Lama made Dharmsala 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 that he is a separatist and says he only advocates substantial autonomy and protection of the region’s native Buddhist culture.