New Delhi :A man in Madhya Pradesh's Betul got himself and his entire family vaccinated against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) after being encouraged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rajesh Hirave, from Dulariya village in Betul district, was one of the people the Prime Minister spoke to during his Mann Ki Baat address and urged to shun vaccine hesitancy. The chat between PM Modi and Hirave was pre-recorded and aired on Sunday as part of the Mann Ki Baat program.

Forty-three-year-old Hirave told PM Modi that dangerous information is being spread about the vaccines being administered in the country. Hirave said he has received messages on WhatsApp claiming that people are dying after being vaccinated. But the Prime Minister said this information is false. PM Modi gave his own example and urged Hirave to take a shot of the vaccine which he said is the only way to stop the infection from spreading.

"After talking to the prime minister on Friday, I along with my family members got the vaccine shot for prevention from the coronavirus infection on Saturday," Hirave told news agency PTI. After being prodded by the Prime Minister, Hirave also encouraged other people in his village to take the vaccine shot. He claimed that 127 people from his village got vaccinated.

PM Modi also interacted with KishorilalDhurve, who lives in Hirave's village. The Prime Minister said that his nearly 100-year-old mother has also taken both the doses of the Covid-19 vaccine and asked him to trust science.

"The threat of Covid-19 remains and we have to focus on vaccination as well as follow Covid-19 protocols," PM Modi said.

India launched the nationwide vaccination program against Covid-19 on January 16 this year and till now, has inoculated more than 320 million people.

India, meanwhile, recorded 50,040 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, according to Union health ministry data, which took the nationwide tally to 35.51 million. The Covid-19 death toll rose by 1,258, including 511 deaths reported from Maharashtra, the health ministry data showed.