New Delhi/Leh, January 16: At least 20 healthcare personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) posted in Ladakh were among the first recipients of the coronavirus vaccine on Saturday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the nation-wide drive to combat the pandemic.

A total of 20 ITBP personnel have been given the jab at the sector hospital in Leh and this includes two women officers, chief medical officer Katyayni Sharma Pande and medical officer Dr Skalzang Angmo, force spokesperson Vivek Kumar Pandey said in Delhi.

The border guarding force has a large presence in the Ladakh region by virtue of its deployment to guard the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. Its north-west frontier, headed by an Inspector General of Police rank officer, is based in Leh and its troops are currently deployed at the front along with the Army as part of the ongoing military standoff with the Chinese PLA troops.

The spokesperson said similar vaccine shots were given to its medical wing personnel in other parts of the country too. COVID-19 Vaccination Drive Begins in India: PM Narendra Modi Launches Pan-India Rollout of Coronavirus Vaccination Programme.

Prime Minister Modi launched India's COVID-19 vaccination drive in multiple states and UTs through an online medium in the morning and asserted that the made-in-India vaccines being rolled out will ensure a "decisive victory" for the country over the coronavirus pandemic.

As per the government scheme, vaccine shots will be administered first to an estimated one crore healthcare workers, and around two crore frontline workers, and then to persons above 50 years of age, followed by persons younger than 50 years of age with associated co-morbidities.