Former Health Minister H.V. Hande, who received the COVID-19 vaccination at Government Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) Hospital recently, urged people not to hesitate when it is their turn to get vaccinated.
“I am 94 years old and had the vaccine not only for my own safety but also as a civic duty, because the only way to defeat the virus is if more people get vaccinated. I do not want to be an instrument through whom the virus can spread to others,” he wrote in a letter.
He added that the vaccine was “almost painless” and he had no side effects. “I know the importance of vaccination because as Health Minister of Tamil Nadu, I was actively associated with the Rotary Club of Madras in launching the red measles vaccine and later the polio vaccine. That is how we eradicated polio in India,” he said.
Noting that Covishield vaccine was available at the centre (KMC), he said he would not have hesitated to take any vaccine that the Central government recommended. “So when it is your turn to get the vaccine – do not hesitate. It is a service we owe our country,” he said.
