Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla Advises Novak Djokovic to Get Vaccinated

The 34-year-old tennis superstar was detained and eventually deported from Australia for failing to meet that country's strict vaccination requirements.

Pune, Feb 17: Novak Djokovic was deported off Australia for not getting vaccinated and missed a glorious chance to  to have a crack on being the first tennis player to win record 21 grand slams in the Australian Open 2022. CEO of Serum Institute if India, Adar Poonawalla has urged the Serbian to change his mind and get vaccinated, so that he can play future Grand Slam tournaments.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner has remained unvaccinated against coronavirus and has maintained that he is willing to miss out on future tennis trophies than be forced to take the jab.

Posting a video of himself playing tennis, Poonawalla, whose Pune-based firm manufactures anti-COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, tweeted, “I respect your personal views on not getting vaccinated @DjokerNole and love watching you play, but I hope you change your mind. In the meantime, the rest of us now might stand a chance at a Grand Slam.”

I respect your personal views on not getting vaccinated @DjokerNole and love watching you play, but I hope you change your mind. In the meantime, the rest of us now might stand a chance at a Grand Slam.☺️ pic.twitter.com/89kW3MWdVt

— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) February 17, 2022

Last month, Djokovic was prevented from participating in the Australian Open tournament due to his unvaccinated status. The 34-year-old tennis superstar was detained and eventually deported from Australia for failing to meet that country’s strict vaccination requirements.

A few days ago, Djokovic was quoted as saying that he is still not vaccinated and prepared to sacrifice titles to stay that way. However, the No 1-ranked tennis player has maintained he is not opposed to vaccinations.

(With Inputs From PTI)