The State government on Friday told the High Court of Karnataka that there is only 2% difference between urban and the rural areas in administering of COVID-19 vaccine doses.
Of the total 2,57,79,659 doses administered in the State, 1,25,78,804 (49%) have been administered in rural areas, and 1,32,00,855 (51%) in urban areas as of July 12, according to a statement filed before the court.
Also, the government said that 17,786 vaccination centres have been registered on the CoWIN portal, out of which 11,267 are in rural areas and 6,519 in urban areas.
The statement was filed before a Special Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Aravind Kumar during the hearing of PIL petitions on issues related to COVID-19.
As the State’s data of vaccine showed that there will be shortfall of vaccine for administration of second doses for the remaining days in July and August, the Bench hoped that the Union government would consider this aspect while allotting vaccine.
In response to recommendations made by the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority, the government told the Bench that districts were told in the last week of June to hold catch-up session to immunise left out children, particularly in slums, construction sites and places where migrant workers reside. The district administration were also asked to conduct house-to-house survey to identify left out children.
Meanwhile, the government clarified to the Bench “beneficiaries are free to register and avail vaccines at government centres even if they have taken their first dose at private vaccine centres.
The government said that 2,46,429 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 have availed treatment under Ayushman Bharath-Arogya Karnataka (AB-ArK) scheme irrespective of whether or not they fall above or below the poverty line.
Orientation sessions for media
Various orientation sessions have been conducted for media personnel to to reduce panic created by the media on COVID-19 and to encourage factual reporting on the pandemic, the government told the High Court on Friday.
