With the district receiving 85,000 doses of the Covid vaccine for the first phase of July, the health department is raring to hold a mega-vaccination drive on Saturday.
District immunisation officer Dr Puneet Juneja said 1,200 healthcare workers will be deployed at 305 mega-vaccination sites. However, with the heatwave sweeping through the district, there has been some concern over the storage of the vaccine, which needs to be kept cold. Dr Juneja said, “We have made adequate agreements to maintain a cold chain of the vaccine from eight to 10 hours.
Civil surgeon Dr Kiran Ahluwalia said the department will do its best to achieve the target of 85,000 doses on Saturday. “We had vaccinated around 50,000 people in two days during the last vaccination drive, which was held amid restrictions. However, as the curbs have been lifted, we expect to vaccinate more people,” she said.
Fewer people will be hospitalised in 3rd wave: Expert
District epidemiologist Dr Ramesh Bhagat said that recent studies suggest that the third wave will arrive in around four to six months. However, if residents fail to follow Covid appropriate behaviour, the third wave could sweep through the region much earlier, he cautioned.
“With most of the population vaccinated, the virus will be less severe and fewer people will need hospitalisation,” he said, adding that the health department was ready for any eventuality.
Delta plus variant has not made inroads in district yet
{{/usCountry}}Delta plus variant has not made inroads in district yet
{{/usCountry}}In a relief, a week after a 68-year-old ex-serviceman from Jand village was found positive for the delta plus mutation of Covid, the health department failed to find anymore cases of the variant in the village after massive sampling.
Dr Bhagat said, “After the delta plus variant was detected on June 16, massive testing were carried out in Jand and Latala villages. Fortunately, no one tested positive.”
He said that 5% of the total samples collected are sent for genome sequencing tests. Private hospitals. including Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, and Satguru Partap Singh Hospital have also been allowed to send their samples for genome sequencing tests.
No fresh Covid deaths, 21 test +ve
As many as 21 fresh coronavirus cases were reported in the district on Thursday, while no fatalities were reported. At present, there are 328 active cases in the district. So far, 86,985 people have tested positive in the district, of which 2,086 have succumbed.