Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said on Saturday that the Union Government allotted 1.40 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Tamil Nadu for November and called for efforts to ensure that the State completed 100% first dose coverage and 50% second dose coverage by November-end.
After inspecting a camp held as part of the seventh mega vaccination drive in the Adyar zone of the Greater Chennai Corporation, he said that as of Friday night, 5,73,91,006 persons had been vaccinated in the State. While the first dose coverage stood at 70%, the second dose coverage was 29%.
He said the State had 59 lakh doses of vaccine. About 13 lakh persons were due for the second dose of Covaxin. “We had three lakh doses of Covaxin. At our meeting with the Union Health Minister a few days ago, we put forward the demand for 10 lakh doses of Covaxin. On Friday evening, we received four lakh doses of Covaxin,” he said.
The Minister added that 47-48 lakh persons were due for the second dose of Covishield. About 53 lakh doses of Covishield was available in the State, he said, urging those who were due for the second dose of the vaccine to get it at the camps. Mr. Subramanian pointed to the third wave of the contagion that was posing a threat to countries such as the U.S., Russia, the U.K. and Singapore.
He said there was an uninterrupted supply of vaccine for the last three months from the Union government.
Mr. Subramanian said that among the major cities in the country, Chennai continued to be in a good position in vaccination. It was the Greater Chennai Corporation that introduced vaccination of differently abled persons at their homes. Similarly, the city ranked top in the line-listing of persons due for the second dose, identification and administration of vaccines.
“The second dose coverage remained within 35% in the country. Chennai’s second dose coverage has reached 48%. The Greater Chennai Corporation has achieved a first dose coverage of 87%,” he said. After inspecting a camp in the Alandur zone, he said 98% residents of the zone had received the first dose, while the second dose coverage stood at 81%.
