Drive to inspire people to opt for Covid vaccine

AIG Hospitals chief Dr D. Nageshwar Reddy flagged off the event

Asian Institute of Gastroenterology (AIG) Hospitals, Gachibowli, organised a virtual public awareness campaign on Covid vaccine, which encouraged people to opt for the vaccine.

Celebrities and popular personalities like Chiranjeevi, Mahesh Babu, Nani, Charmme Kaur, Brahmaji, Suma Kanakala, Pullela Gopichand, Mohammed Azharuddin, Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap, and Mithali Raj came out in support of the “End Corona Campaign” launched in December 2020. 10,000 people have already registering for it. The campaign has been supported by Hyderabad Runners, which encouraged campaigners to walk and run for 5–10 kilometres between January 1 and 3, 2021.

Dr D. Nageshwar Reddy,

CELEBRITIES AND popular personalities like Chiranjeevi, Mahesh Babu, Nani, Charmme Kaur, Brahmaji, Suma Kanakala, Pullela Gopichand, Mohammed Azharuddin, Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap, and Mithali Raj came out in support of the “End Corona Campaign” launched in December 2020.

chairman and chief of gastroenterology, AIG Hospitals, virtually flagged off the Grand Finale of the campaign. He was joined by leading doctors from United States, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and India.

Also, present on the occasion were senior government officials like principal secretary to Chief Minister S. Narsing Rao, DGP M. Mahender Reddy and business leaders like B.V.R. Mohan Reddy, B. Parthasaradhi Reddy and

C. Krishna Prasad, as well as senior industry personnel from global companies like Olympus, Boston Scientific and Wilson Cook.

AIG chairman said, “Covid has changed the world around us. Who would have thought that we would spend bulk of our life in 2020 behind a mask? It has affected over 83 million people globally, killing 1.83 million. The only positive side is that it has united the world to fight against the deadly virus. Scientists from almost all countries, big or small, are working nonstop to find a cure or vaccine. We are glad that few vaccines have come into existence with many more under clinical trials. No vaccine has been developed at such a pace ever before,” Dr Nageshwar Reddy remarked.

He pointed out that a lot of questions are being asked on safety of the vaccines. “While long-term effects of any Covid vaccine are still unknown, I am confident that vaccine developers are taking great care in ensuring safety of use. I urge everyone to take the vaccine, especially those above the age of 50 and those suffering from co-morbidities like blood pressure, diabetes, kidney problems, cardiac issues, liver damage and lung problems. In our experience, these categories of patients are most vulnerable to severe form of Covid-related complications,” the AIG chief underlined.

The event has been organised to focus public attention on Covid vaccination. Various speakers observed that Covid vaccine does not mean one will not get Coronavirus. But vaccination will increase the ability of people to fight the disease. People must come forward and get vaccinated as part of their social responsibility, they added.