New Delhi, Mar 15 (IANS): A 107-year-old man became the oldest person to receive the Covid-19 vaccine after receiving his first shot on Monday.

The man, Kewal Krishan, was inoculated in a private hospital under the supervision of his cardiologist Dr Ashok Seth, Chairman, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Delhi.

The man lives in South Delhi and had undergone a major heart surgery two years ago. As per the hospital, he is the oldest patient in the world to have undergone stenting to the artery of the left side of the brain.

The surgery was done to prevent Krishan from a major brain stroke, Dr Seth said.

The hospital said that he has perfectly fine after the vaccination, adding that Krishan has set an example for many other elderly patients to keep a positive attitude to life and wellbeing

"It is a heartening moment to see him (Kewal Krishan) receive the vaccine safely and will continue to lead a good quality of life in safety. This is important especially because two years ago, he started having repeated small strokes and was threatening a major stroke leading to paralysis," said Dr Seth.

Explaining Krishan's complexed medical condition, the doctor added: "He had a 95% calcified left carotid artery stenosis (blockage in the main artery supplying blood to the left half of brain). The blockages were very hard, torturous and angulated. It took us two hours to treat it via a non-invasive Carotid Artery Stent Implantation. I am happy to say that he improved and that day we prevented him from having a major stroke and today he is well, leading a quality of life and therefore took the vaccine to remain well and enjoy his life with his family".

Bidesh Chandra Paul, Zonal Director, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute said that Krishan will encourage others to come forward for the vaccination.

"We hope that this action will encourage people to get vaccinated. The second phase of the vaccine rollout has seen an encouraging response, the numbers are increasing day by day," he added.