The steady rise in COVID-19 infections in Chennai and some districts is an indirect pointer that immunity levels are waning, making people susceptible to variants, subvariants and lineages, Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan has said in a letter to District Collectors and the Commissioner of Greater Chennai Corporation on May 26.
The official said the increasing numbers in certain places in Chennai such as Adyar, Teynampet, Anna Nagar, Perungudi and Kodambakkam and the neighbouring district of Chengalpattu—besides a few odd cases in Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur—had raised concerns that apart from institutional clusters, there were also family clusters.
So far, there had been “no significant increase in hospitalisation”, he said, but added that it could become a matter of serious concern if the infections are not kept in check and persons with comorbidities and the elderly start getting affected.
Vaccination figures
As of Thursday, 43 lakh eligible persons in the state are yet to take their first dose, while 1.22 crore people have not yet taken their second dose. Also 13 lakh eligible persons have not yet taken the booster dose, he pointed out. Currently, 93.74% and 82.55% have taken their first and second dose respectively.
He urged district officials to advocate the use of mask in public gatherings and in closed places where the possibility of infection spread is high.
“While health and local bodies and relevant stakeholders continue to have surveillance and keep track of numbers, for a successful and sustained preventive strategy, this would require you to involve all concerned to not allow any drift or slackening in the efforts leading to any dip or wane in prevention and control effort,” said Dr. Radhakrishnan.
