The 23rd edition of the mega COVID-19 vaccination camp scheduled for February 19 has been deferred owing to the urban civic bodies elections on that day, Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Minister Ma Subramanian said on Saturday. The regular vaccination camps would not be held next Saturday as the state would elect new representatives to the civic bodies (for 12,838 posts during the single-phase election), he said.
Speaking to reporters here after inspecting the camp at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH), the minister said considering the importance of vaccination, the government has made arrangements to provide the vaccine shots at all government hospitals on the polling day. "We would not be in a position to organise mass camps due to the election but sufficient arrangements will be made to vaccinate people against COVID-19 at government facilities,” he said. So far, about 3.65 crore beneficiaries were inoculated during the 21 mega camps held simultaneously throughout the state.
“Till Friday evening, a total of 9.75 crore persons have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and precaution doses, since its launch on January 10, were administered to 7.91 lakh persons so far,” the minister said. Hundred per cent vaccination coverage was achieved in 2,792 village panchayats out of 12,525 in the state besides in 24 out of 121 town panchayats. To a question, Subramanian replied, “Its a good sign that new infections were steadily declining. I hope there won’t be any resurgence.”
Meanwhile, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Dr J Radhakrishnan asked district collectors and commissioners of corporations to ensure the guard was not lowered on account of decline in new cases. There is still the need for all to maintain precautions like adherence to wearing masks, social distancing and frequent hand washing, he stressed. “Declining figures should not make us complacent, as even now about 3,000 cases per day are reported and the testing is being maintained at about a lakh per day,” he said in a communication to the senior officials. Hence, testing, tracking, treatment, COVID-appropriate behaviour and vaccination of the eligible, should continue to prevent any clusters or future waves, he said.
With PTI Inputs
