Jagan calls for faster coverage of Covid jabs in AP

Vijayawada: Chief Minister Jagan has directed the health authorities to expedite the Covid19 vaccination and called for a door-to-door campaign to ensure all targeted groups get fully vaccinated in the state.

The CM chaired a high-level meeting with health minister Srinivas and top officials at his camp office here on Monday. The CM laid stress on finding out as to who remained unvaccinated during the fever survey and giving them the jabs.

Referring to the Centre’s directive to give booster C-dose to the frontline workers and those aged above 60 and those with comorbidities, the CM asked officials to act fast. Follow the norm of ‘Test Early, Trace Early and Treat Early’, he said, and underlined the need to take up a door-to-door fever survey in the state.
 
He called for keeping a close tab on international travellers and subjecting them to an RT-PCR test on them. He said they Covid test must be done on them repeatedly to ensure there will not be any spread from their part.

In case they tested Covid positive, all their primary contact also should be tested for Covid, the CM said.

Jagan said the health authorities must be prepared to face any health emergency in the context of the pandemic spread, even by getting the private hospitals in a state of readiness, along with government hospitals, to handle any eventuality.

The officials informed the CM that AP so far registered six cases of Omicron. None of the infected persons had to be hospitalised as the symptoms were mild. “Yet, keep a close tab on the arrivals of people from other areas,” Jagan said.

The officials informed the CM that they had covered 98.96 per cent of the targeted population for the first dose of Covid jab and 71.76 per cent for the second dose in the state. Districts like Nellore, Vizianagaram, Prakasam, Anantapur, West Godavari, Kurnool and Chittoor achieved cent per cent target in first dose Covid jab.

The officials said the fresh jabs would cover 75 lakh people, also including those aged between 15 and 18 years getting the first dose of the vaccine.

The CM reviewed the progress in implementation of the Nadu-Nadu programme in government hospitals in the state and felt the need to speed up construction works for the new medical colleges. He also reviewed the works for developing medical hubs in the state and called for completion of these expeditiously.

Jagan gave the green signal for general transfers in the health department and stressed the need to ensure adequate numbers of health staff are available in every hospital in the state by February and complete recruitment of health staff by that time.