1st in Delhi to get jab fought fears of friends, family

NEW DELHI: At 11.10am on Saturday, 34-year-old sanitation worker Manish Kumar became the first person in Delhi to get the Covid-19 vaccine, marking a personal triumph for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) employee who fought the fears of his family and friends to get the shot.

A sanitation machine operator for eight years, Kumar was among the first people in the hospital to volunteer for the vaccine, but kept his wife and mother in the dark because of their strong apprehension of side effects. On Saturday, he was vindicated, even inspiring his best friend to get over his jitters and get the jab.

“I wanted to serve as an example to my family and colleagues,” said Kumar, minutes after he received Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin shot, flanked by Union health minister Harsh Vardhan and AIIMS director Randeep Guleria.

A resident of Najafgarh in outer Delhi, Kumar wore a mask while being vaccinated as a cheering crowd gathered around and was monitored by three doctors for 30 minutes after the injection. He said he volunteered to dispel any fears about the vaccine, which has triggered some criticism because its efficacy is not publicly known and it is yet to complete phase 3 trials.

“There are rumours on social media about the vaccine. I am fortunate to play a part in dispelling those rumours. There are no rashes on my body, no feeling of nausea, no pain, nothing,” said Kumar.

Standing in the crowd, on his toes trying to capture Kumar’s vaccination on video, was his childhood friend Shaukat Ali. “I have had three surgeries and was very scared to take the vaccine,” said Ali, also a sanitation worker at the hospital.

Afraid of side effects, Ali tried to dissuade Kumar until 9 am on Saturday. “But I told him that he should watch me receive the vaccine and be inspired,” said Kumar. Inspired by his friend, Ali eventually took the vaccine shot around 12.30pm.

Kumar didn’t know he would hit national headlines, but later said his confidence was buoyed by the attention trained on him. ”The media was there. The Prime Minister was live just minutes before my vaccination. And the health minister was by my side. Even if a problem were to occur, they would ensure I was taken care of,” said Kumar.

His decision to take the vaccine initially met with opposition from his mother and wife, but his insistence eventually wore them down.

Kumar will now go back to work at the hospital, and get his second vaccine jab in 28 days. Despite two members of the family working at the frontlines, and other relatives employed by different hospitals, no one in the family was touched by the virus last year.

“But the fear of the virus was always there. We had witnessed deaths,” said Kumar.