Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, joined other world leaders in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine Saturday.
March 6 (UPI) — Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, joined other world leaders in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine Saturday. The 14th and current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso,85, was given a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine early in the morning at Zonal Hospital, Dharamshala, despite earlier plans to vaccinate him and members of his staff at his residence at McLeodganj, India, Hindustan Times reported. “His Holiness said he would take the injection at the place where the common people were being inoculated,” Kangara Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Kumar Prajapati told the Times. “It was his decision. We were arranging to vaccinate him at his home.” In a video message obtained by the news organization, the Dalai Lama encouraged others to get the shot. “This injection is very helpful,” he said in the video message. “Others should also take it for greater benefit.” The spiritual leader arrived at the hospital in a motorcade with followers lining the streets to catch a glimpse of him and seek his blessings, according to the Indian daily newspaper. The Dalai Lama has lived in McLeodganj since fleeing Tibet after a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese occupation. India has reported more than 11 million cases and 157,656 deaths since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University global tracker.
