Shivraj opts out of first phase of vaccination

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday joined the select group of politicians in the country who have chosen to opt out of the initial phase of Coronavirus vaccination, by declaring that he would not get the vaccine right away. Chouhan, however, has his reasons for deciding not to get vaccinated first. The CM said that priority groups should be vaccinated first and his turn should come later.

“I will not get vaccinated now. The vaccine should be administered to others first. My turn should come afterwards. We should ensure that the priority groups get vaccinated”, Chouhan said, while addressing the commissioners, district collectors and police officers through video conferencing.

Chouhan’s comment comes a day after the Drugs Controller-General of India gave its approval to two Coronavirus vaccines, one developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and the other by Bharat Biotech, for emergency use.

Hours after the DCGI granted approval to the two vaccines, former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav said he will not get vaccinated now, inviting sharp reactions from several BJP leaders, who dubbed his attitude towards the coronavirus vaccine as “negative”.

The Opposition Congress took a potshot at Chouhan for opting out of the first phase of vaccination, saying that his decision would not inspire confidence among the people on the corona vaccine.

“As Chief Minister of the state, Chouhan should volunteer to be the first to get vaccinated to inspire confidence among people for the vaccine. But he has announced he would get vaccinated later. This may hurt the confidence of people in the vaccine”, state Congress spokesman Narendra Singh Saluja said.