Delhi’s first doctor hit by Covid elated after taking vaccine jab

New Delhi, Jan 25 : In a sigh of relief, the first frontline healthcare worker in the national capital to suffer due to the coronavirus pandemic in March beamed with joy after receiving the first shot of Covishield vaccine on Monday.
On March 12, Gopal Jha, deployed at a Mohalla clinic in east Delhi, had contracted the virus after an infected woman with travel history to Saudi Arabia visited him at the clinic, resulting in a two-week long misery for him.
“The person I got the infection from was the 10th Covid-19 case in India. I was the first among the doctors in Delhi to get infected. After getting vaccinated today at the Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital, I feel elated. My family is also relieved,” Jha told IANS.
His wife Alpana Jha, who works at a Mohalla clinic in the Jaffarabad area, has also been inoculated. She got infected at the same time in March along with their daughter.
The 51-year-old doctor said he received the Covishield vaccine and did not feel any side-effects after taking it. “I would request everyone to take the vaccine and not feel hesitant,” he said.
Jha said he would also insist his 87-year-old mother with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to take the jab whenever her turn comes. “Vaccines are safe, there is no need to worry,” he said.