Is the second wave of COVID-19 rages on, the district administration is banking on two important strategies – vaccinating more people and improving the preparedness of health infrastructure to handle flow of cases.
"While inoculation depends on the supply of vaccine from the Union government or policy decisions, gearing up the infrastructure is in our hands," says District Collector V. Vinay Chand.
The district has a population of around 47 lakh and so far about 4.5 lakh have been administered the first dose of the vaccine. After the initial poor response, the demand for vaccines has picked up but the supply has been inadequate.
"To develop the concept of herd immunity, we need to vaccinate at least 70% of the population, which is around 32 lakh. Both doses have to be administered and only then we can claim to have covered the required numbers for developing the herd immunity," says Dr. P.V. Sudhakar, District COVID Special Officer and Principal of Andhra Medical College.
With the present supply of vaccines, inoculating 32 lakh in the next few months looks a distant dream. To achieve the district target of 30,000 jabs a day, at least one lakh doses are needed.
Meanwhile, the district administration has ramped up its health infrastructure. About 6,580 beds, over 2,200 of them with oxygen supply, have been kept ready. This apart, about 40 private hospitals have been categorised under A and B to handle COVID cases. We will be monitoring their functioning, as we did during the first wave, says Mr. Vinay Chand.
