An elderly woman, claiming to be the oldest person in the world, received her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to local and international media reports. The British newspaper "Daily Mail" reported that Riti Begum from the Baramulla area in Jammu and Kashmir, India, was among 9,000 people in the area who received the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday.
She was vaccinated after healthcare teams began home-to-home outreach to administer doses. A ration card showed that she is 124 years old. According to local reports, the elderly woman's case inspired younger people, who were initially hesitant about getting vaccinated, to go for it after learning she had received her first dose.
Reports indicated that health workers were distributing COVID-19 vaccines when Begum expressed her willingness to receive the vaccine. Riti Begum was given a dose of the "Covishield" vaccine during a vaccination campaign organized in the "Sarakwara" area of Baramulla district. Later, authorities in Jammu and Kashmir confirmed that the elderly woman indeed received a vaccine dose.
In a video recorded after she received the vaccine, the woman stated that she felt good and healthy following the vaccination. Official Abdul Rashid Jani mentioned he was part of a group that visited the grandmother's family. Jani noted, "The ration card revealed her age to be 124," and added that when asked about her age, all she said was that she was over a hundred years old.
He explained, "We saw the family's ration card that stated she is 124 years old. It does seem she is definitely over 100, but I cannot be certain about her actual age." If the authenticity of the ration card is confirmed, Riti would not only be the oldest living person to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but also the oldest recorded person ever. The oldest recorded person before her was Jeanne Calment from France, who passed away at the age of 122 years and 164 days.
