Vaccination numbers pick up steadily in TN

CHENNAI: With 66,337 receiving vaccine doses on Wednesday, the COVID-19 vaccination drive has gathered momentum in Tamil Nadu. At a press meet with the central team, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan noted that number of vaccine shot being administered in the State was steadily increasing.

“One positive that has been seen in the State is that there has been a consistent number of beneficiaries for the vaccines across all centres. Following the availability of the vaccine to the general public, we are glad to see a large number of the people getting vaccinated. We will continue to follow this step-by-step approach in vaccination,” he said.

During the day, 25,928 elderly persons and 14,577 above 45 years with comorbidities received their vaccine shots. This apart, 9,701 healthcare workers and 16,131 frontline workers also received the vaccines. Of the total, 59,694 of them received their first dose while 6,643 received the second dose. So far, 5,89,370 persons have received vaccine shots in the State.

eanwhile, a team of experts from the Centre inspected the activity at the Tamil Nadu Multi-Super-Speciality Hospital on Wednesday and also the COVID-19 care centre at Athipet. After completing the inspection, the team visited facilities at Tiruvallur. The team was deputed to monitor states, including Tamil Nadu, where the COVID cases are rising.

Meanwhile, private hospitals will now receive doses of Covaxin for administration to the general public, according to a letter by the Director of Public Health and Preventative Medicine. This comes following the request by private hospitals to provide the vaccine, the DPH noted in the letter.

One vial, whiach contains 10 doses, would be issues to hospitals based on request. Hospitals must receive a consent form before administering the vaccine, said the DPH, who also urged the private hospitals to ensure minimum wastage of the vaccine.