E-Paper
5th Covid-19 vaccine camp underway in Tamil Nadu as state aims to achieve 70% first dose inoculation by October
Almost 65% of the eligible population in Tamil Nadu has received the first dose while 22% of the state’s population has been fully immunised against Covid-19, state health secretary J Radhakrishnan said.
The fifth mega Covid-19 vaccination camp in Tamil Nadu began on Sunday with around 30,000 such camps set up across the state to vaccinate eligible beneficiaries against Covid-19. Four such mega camps have been conducted so far in the state on Sundays previously on September 12, 19 and 26 and on October 3. The mega vaccination camps have been part of the state’s strategy to increase Covid-19 vaccinations and also create awareness among the people about the immunisation drive.
J Radhakrishnan, the state health secretary, said that almost 65% of the eligible population in the state has received the first dose while 22% of the state’s population has been fully immunised against the disease, news agency ANI reported on Sunday.
"Already 65% people have taken the first dose. We are low on the second dose. Almost 26 lakh people are due for the second dose. So, this type of drive allows them to come and ensure that they get their second dose," ANI quoted Radhakrishnan as saying.
Further, Radhakrishnan also said that the camps are being conducted to not only vaccinate the people but also to create awareness about the drive. “We are trying to spread the message that those who are vaccinated are safe. Those who are due should come. So, it is not a forcing approach but a convincing one,” he said.
“Before we started this mega camp we were at 46%; now we are [at] 65% first dose [coverage] after four such camps. This is only the scientific way forward to protect ourselves,” he added.
Briefing on the vaccine availability in the state, the health secretary said that there were 47 lakh vaccine doses currently and another six lakh doses would be received on the day and so the availability of vaccines was not an issue.
Meanwhile, the fifth mega camp is the highest yet in the state, in terms of the number of camps, with 30,000 such facilities set up, state health minister Ma Subramanian had said earlier this month. “Currently we have about 24 lakh vaccine doses in stock and expect another nine lakh to be sent from the Centre, totaling 33 lakh. By Saturday evening we expect to have 25 lakh vaccines to conduct the fifth Mega Vaccination Camp,” news agency PTI quoted him as saying on October 5. The minister also said that the state government aims to inoculate at least 70% of the population with one dose by the end of October, which he called was a safe standard prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
(With agency inputs)
