Here's What Natasha Poonawalla Said On Receiving The First Shot Of Covishield Vaccine

Natasha Poonawalla, the Executive Director of India's Serum Institute took to her Instagram today as she received the first shot of Covishield which is manufactured by her company and developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.

In her caption, Natasha, wife of Serum Institute's owner and CEO Adar Poonawalla, wrote, "Proud to take the jab. Only after thorough rounds of local and international clinical trials, #Covishield vaccines were deemed safe and effective."

In her post, Natasha thanked the combined efforts of Seth Berkley chief executive of the GAVI vaccine alliance, WHO, UNICEF, Gates Foundation, and Bill Gates who ensured that the first batch of vaccines was delivered to the global COVAX programme by the Pune-based Serum Institute.

India started its second phase of the vaccination drive against coronavirus on Monday, a gigantic exercise that aims to vaccinate 300 million people by July. Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin are the two vaccines currently being administered in the country. The second phase aims to vaccinate those over 60 years of age and for people aged 45 with illnesses. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first beneficiary in the second phase to get vaccinated by the Covaxin dose at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) early on Monday morning. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan also took the first shot of Covaxin.

Who is Natasha Poonawalla? 

Natasha Poonawalla is a businesswoman who holds a number of important positions in the Poonawalla industries. She is the chairperson of the Villoo Poonawalla Foundation and the executive director of Serum Institute of India.  Natasha serves as the director of Poonawalla Science Park in the Netherlands and Villoo Poonawalla Racing and Breeding Pvt Ltd. Additionally, she is also a fashionista, socialite, and philanthropist having close ties with Bollywood. She is also known as the ‘Queen of Derby’ in her social circles. As observed by the media, Natasha and her husband have extravagant lifestyles which include horse racing, private jets, and their luxury fast cars. Read about it more here. 

Image Credits: Natasha Poonawalla/ Instagram