Salman Khan receives first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Mumbai: Superstar Salman Khan on Wednesday received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

The 55-year-old actor, who was spotted at the Lilavati Hospital in suburban Bandra in the evening, shared the news on Twitter.

”Took my first dose of vaccine today….” Salman Khan wrote on the microblogging site.

The ”Bharat” star’s parents — veteran screenwriter Salim Khan and producer Salma Khan — received their first dose of the vaccine a few days ago, a source close to Salman Khan told PTI.

On Tuesday, the government announced that from April 1, all people above 45 years of age will be eligible to get COVID-19 vaccines. Union minister Prakash Javadekar said now even people without comorbidities who are more than 45 years of age can get inoculated.

Salman Khan is the latest Indian film celebrity to be vaccinated, after Sanjay Dutt, Sharmila Tagore, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Mohanlal, Jeetendra, Kamal Haasan, Nagarjuna, Neena Gupta, Rakesh Roshan, and Johnny Lever.

According to the Union health ministry, the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 5 crore till Tuesday.

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting vaccinated first and immunisation of frontline workers began from February 2. The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from March 1 for those who are over 60 years of age and for people aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.