Corpn targets 20k vaccinations a day

In a move to expedite the COVID-19 vaccination drive in the city, the Greater Chennai Corporation has given targets to the sanitary inspectors.

According to an official source from the Corporation, every sanitary inspector at the divisional level should get 100 persons vaccinated every day. “The sanitary inspectors are asked to utilise the services of animators to create awareness among the residents about the vaccine. Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department is monitoring the progress of the drive in the city,” the source said. The Corporation has animators, who are appointed to create awareness about source segregation and other garbage collection related issues.

The Corporation data shows that 16,831 persons were vaccinated in the city on Thursday. Of them, 2,782 are from Teynampet zone, which is the highest. Apart from Teynampet, zones with more residential areas like Anna Nagar (2,491), Kodambakkam (2,507) and Adyar (2,323) also vaccinated more than 2,000 persons on the day. In contrast, Tiruvottiyur, Manali and Madhavaram performed poorly with only 248, 116 and 181 persons respectively getting the vaccine on Thursday. Despite being a hotspot during the initial days of pandemic, only 428 persons got their vaccine in Tondiarpet zone.

“Even after repeated instructions, the vaccination drive is slow in Tiruvottiyur, Manali and Madhavaram. By giving a target to the sanitary inspectors, we can hasten the drive. Our overall target is to vaccinate 20,000 persons every day,” an official said.

Of the 16,831 persons vaccinated on Thursday, 15,893 persons had their first shot while 938 received the second dose. Among the 15,893 persons, 3,554 are those aged between 45 to 60 years with comorbidities. As many as 11,250 persons are aged above 60 years. Others were healthcare workers and frontline workers. Overall, more than 1.22 lakh people in the city took the vaccine, of which 36,075 persons are general public falling under the two categories.