Tamil Nadu’s second dose pendency is increasing exponentially — at about 61 lakh now — as the administration of the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines has been on the rise since May, said Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan. Getting people inoculated will give immediate results, he said.
In a letter to Collectors, the Health Secretary said in addition to the weekly mega camps, health teams in districts had been given detailed instructions on the need to focus on increasing daily vaccinations, along with local bodies, by following a saturation approach, identifying a line list of people yet to take the first dose and those eligible, due and overdue for the second.
On the State and district-wise vaccination levels, he said more than the absolute number of jabs being administered per day or on the days when mega camps were held in each district, the real issue was the percentage in comparison with the eligible population yet to be given the first and second dose. Tamil Nadu’s percentage was still slightly below the national average due to a slow uptake in the first four-and-a-half months, he said.
He called for district-level vaccination drives, aimed at addressing the issue of people delaying the second dose and avoiding the first. Collectors should start encouraging and appreciating habitations, village panchayats in rural areas and wards and zones in urban areas that achieve 100% first-dose coverage among those aged over 18. Workplaces should be encourged to display boards indicating that everyone is fully vaccinated, through encouragement, without being compelled, he said.
A planned approach to saturate habitations and wards, in a graded and sustainable manner, through daily vaccinations, will be the way forward, he said. All districts can now start aiming at virus suppression by 100% contact tracing and addressing the source of infection, he said.
On preventing a resurgence of COVID-19, he said even now, clusters were being reported after functions and events that had common dining. A new variant, already under investigation for reportedly being responsible for the recent rapid spread of infection in the U.K., had been identified in Indore, and found in 1% of the cases in Maharashtra, Dr. Radhakrishnan said.
He stressed the need for strict adherence to standard operating procedures, wearing masks in public, crowded and closed spaces and maintaining physical distancing.
Considering the northeast monsoon, he said dengue cases usually increased during the last three months of every year. Cases were showing an increasing trend, especially in Avadi, Chennai, Kancheepuram and Salem, he said, adding that focus should be on preventing mosquito breeding.
He put forward the need to be alert about the continuing challenges in public health.
