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Vaccination of 18-45 age group to resume in Himachal on July 19
Health minister says the state has a stock of nearly five lakh doses available and the supply of vaccine has also been smooth
The vaccination of 18-45 age group will resume in Himachal Pradesh on Monday (July 19), health minister Rajiv Saizal said on Saturday.
The inoculation drive for this group had slowed down in the end of June and was completely stopped on July 14 due to shortage of doses.
Saizal said the state has a stock of nearly five lakh doses available and the supply of vaccine has also been smooth.
However, unlike previously, the people of this particular age group will be given the jab at common sites along with other age groups and priority groups.
Before, the people aged between 18 and 44 years were being provided jabs at separate sites. Saizal said the vaccination drive was going on smoothly in the state and till date, 33.6 lakh people have been given the first dose, which is 62% of the total population.
Similarly, 10 lakh people have been given the second dose as well, which is around 22% of the total population.
“In percentage coverage of population, Himachal is the top state in terms of vaccination,” he claimed.
27 infected with black fungus
The health minister further said that the state has reported a total of 27 cases of black fungus to date. Six patients have died, five are under treatment at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), Shimla, three at Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC), Tanda and rest have recovered, he added.
Saizal said the state has also made arrangements for the anticipated third wave of Covid. “I hope it does not happen. But, if the third wave comes, the state is fully geared up,” he said.
He said the state health department is ramping up required facilities at health institution while most of the arrangements were already put in place to deal with any situation.
Meanwhile, a suspected case of black fungus has been reported in Una district. The patient, a 77-year-old woman has been referred to PGIMER in Chandigarh.
Una chief medical officer Dr Raman Sharma said the woman was infected by Covid two months back and had recovered. After recovery, she suffered some problem in her mouth and was diagnosed by a private lab, the doctor said, adding that her reports are being analysed.
113 Covid cases reported
Himachal on Saturday recorded 113 fresh Covid cases, taking the state’s tally to 2,04,337 while death toll mounted to 3,489 after one more patient died of the contagion.
Of the new cases, 28 were reported in Chamba, 20 in Kangra, 19 in Mandi, 14 in Kullu, 11 in Shimla, eight in Hamirpur, seven in Bilaspur, four in Solan and one each in Kinnaur and Una.
The recoveries reached 1,99,720 after 138 people recuperated. Active cases have come down to 1,110.
Kangra is the worst-hit district with a total of 46,159 cases followed by Mandi (27,558), Shimla (25,487), Solan (22,364), Sirmaur (15,354), Hamirpur (14,483), Una (13,387), Bilaspur (12,821), Chamba (11,686), Kullu (9,016), Kinnaur (3,283) and Lahaul-Spiti (2,739).
