TN sets ambitious target of 100% first dose vaccination by month end

The Tamil Nadu health department has taken up the task of vaccinating 100 per cent of its eligible population with the first dose by the end of this month, said state Health Minister Ma Subramanian during a surprise visit to Chennai’s T Nagar market on Monday (November 1). He was there to see if people are following COVID appropriate behaviour.

Medical teams have been deployed to administer COVID-19 vaccines in about 80,000 villages in over 12,000 panchayats across the state, starting Tuesday (November 2). Each team will have a doctor, nurse and healthcare personnel, to be assisted by the district health officials, said the health minister.

Subramanian admitted that the vaccination drive has slowed down. The earlier mega camps would result in 5-6 lakh vaccinations, but now the response is not that good, he said. The medical teams deployed for the task will collect data on every target village’s total population and shortlist candidates eligible for vaccination to make sure the vaccination target for November is met, he said.

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The minister said the health department is on alert this festive season, taking a cue from Kerala and West Bengal where cases surged after Onam and Durga Puja respectively.

The minister said that cases have definitely gone down below 1,000, but the risk has gone up due to crowding in markets. On Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner removing roadside vendors on Ranganathan Street until Deepavali, the minister said, “We empathise with the street vendors. But we have to prevent crowding during the pandemic.”