Vaccination drive in Tamil Nadu to streamline as more doses arrive

"A total of 11.30 crore vaccines will be adequate to vaccinate the people of Tamil Nadu and so far, 1.6 crore vaccines have been received. Even yesterday, five lakh vaccines have been received in the State and three lakh vaccines are expected on Sunday," he said. 

As 2,090 dengue cases have been reported in Tamil Nadu so far, he said that the state health department has instructed all the district collectors to record the cases of dengue and suspected fever in the respective districts to prevent an outbreak. 

"The district collectors have been asked to work for the prevention of mosquito breeding as cases of Zika virus have been reported in Kerala. The precautions being taken for Dengue are being followed up for Zika virus spread also and all the districts have been instructed to ensure that the cases are in control.," said Ma Subramanian. 

Talking about the ongoing construction of the new medical colleges in the State, he said that the construction will be completed soon. "Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan met the Union Health Ministry officials recently and I will be meeting them in the next few days to discuss on the admission to the new medical colleges in the State with the Union Health Ministry officials. 

Ma Subramanian also inaugurated the oxygen generators at Kauvery Hospital on Sunday. The hospital is completely self reliant for all oxygen requirements as it has full-fledged in-house oxygen generation. 

"The oxygen generation was about 230 MT when the cases started to surge and the dependency was higher on other States. It was difficult for private hospitals and government hospitals to meet the oxygen demand when COVID-19 cases surged. We currently have a capacity of 900 MT and self-reliance of private hospitals on oxygen generation is useful. The hospitals who have more than 100 beds, they should have adequate oxygen availability to meet the patient demands," said Ma Subramanian. He added that government is likely to bring up regulations to ensure adequate availability of oxygen if a new hospital is approved. 

On account of World Population Day, he flagged off the mobile awareness units and led the pledge for the doctors and nurses and said that Tamil Nadu is a pioneer state in the country in the implementation of family planning. 

The total fertility rate of Tamil Nadu as on 2018 is 1.6, while National Fertility Rate is 2.2. Tamil Nadu has already achieved this national level target. The maternal mortality rate (2016-18) is 60 per lakh live births. Infant mortality is 15 per thousand live births according to 2018. The higher birth order was about 10.6 percent in 2010 and has dropped to 7.2 percent by 2019. 

Family Welfare Services are being provided in 13,866 Medical Centers across Tamil Nadu in Primary Health Centers, All Hospitals, Medical Colleges and Accredited Private Hospitals in Tamil Nadu, while family planning surgeries are performed on 2.55 lakh mothers annually. 

He participated in a 21km virtual marathon in London and encouraged the public to choose a healthy lifestyle. It was the 129th marathon that he participated in and he covered it in 2.8 hours.