TN to prioritise second dose to bridge huge gap between both jabs

“As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, 1.78 lakh pregnant women 1.39 lakh lactating women have been vaccinated and 1.14 lakh doses have been given to differently abled people. Also, 80 per cent of frontline workers have got their first dose, while 37 per cent have completed both doses. Many people think that they are safe from the virus after the first dose are hesitant to take the second. So we are making a live list of those who are yet to take the second dose,” Radhakrishnan said. 

So far, 2.36 crore doses have been given and 19.87 lakh of those were through private hospitals. Nearly 2.2 crore people were vaccinated at government facilities. A total of 9.94 lakh vaccines are in stock now, including 3.89 lakh at private hospitals. 

“While the vaccination drive is doing well in Chennai, Coimbatore and Tirupattur, the drives in districts like Thoothukudi and Kovilpatti are yet to gain full speed. In July, the Centre provided 51 lakh doses first and then 19 lakh more. For this month, the Centre has allocated 79 lakh doses. Based on how the vaccinations camps perform, we might get more. Meanwhile, the number of daily COVID cases have increased marginally in a few districts,” the Health secretary added. 

While nearly 80-90 per cent of COVID patients are taking treatment at private hospitals, around 96 hospitals have been closed for overcharging.