Chennai: Though the target was to vaccinate 15 lakh, a total of 17,19,544 people took jabs during Tamilnadu government’s mega drive on Sunday, of whom 9,68,010 took the first dose and 7,51,534 the second.
Speaking to the media, Health Minister M Subramanian said incessant rains in over 16 districts in the State may have impacted the performance in some districts, though many people turned up despite the downpour.
Stating that over one crore people were vaccinated against Covid-19 in Tamilnadu in September, he added that the introduction of the mega vaccination drives had led to this increase in the number of people taking jabs.
Ever since the vaccination started at 7 am, there has been a brisk turn out in the more than 20,000 booths set up by the government.
Subramanian said the government has set a target of 1.50 crore inoculations for October and the State had 31.50 lakh doses on hand for the day. For October, the Union government has agreed to give 1,23,09,370 doses for Tamilnadu.
The vaccination percentage increases every week. As per World Health Organisation guidelines, if any State vaccinates 75 per cent or more of its population, it is meant to be safe from Covid spread.
‘We have already exceeded 60 per cent and are expecting to reach 75 per cent by the end of this month’, he added.
Meanwhile, talking to reporters after inspecting a camp at Government Omandurar multi-speciality hospital here, Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan said the State has so far vaccinated 4.70 crore people till Saturday.
He said a study of the Covid fatalities reported in the State during the last two months revealed that 90 per cent of deaths had occurred among people who were not vaccinated.
He also said that vaccination is a must to prevent fatalities and also to prevent outbreak of a possible third wave.
Thanks to the massive vaccination drive launched by the State government, the daily caseload, which were higher in some districts, including the Western region of the State, has started declining.
‘The number of corona cases in Western districts in the last few days indicated that the numbers are reducing’, Dr Radhakrishnan said.
In the first camp held on 12 September, the government targetted to inoculate 20 lakh people. Surpassing the target a total of 28,91,021 people were vaccinated with 21,48,526 getting the first dose and 7,42,495 getting the second dose.
In the second camp held on 19 September, the 15 lakh vaccination target was surpassed again with a total of 16,43,879 people getting vaccine jabs. This included 10,85,097 first dose vaccines and 5,58,782 jabs.
And for the third week in a row the state government has exceeded the 15 lakh target on 26 September. Tamilnadu had administered 9.85 lakh more doses over and above the target of 15 lakh jabs with the number of doses delivered crossing the 24 lakh-mark.
A total of 24,85,814 people were inoculated. While 14,90,814 people aged above 18 had received the first dose, 9,95,000 people were administered the second dose.
Apart from government and private hospitals, vaccination was being administered in Primary Health Centres, anganwadi and noon meal centres, railway stations, bus depots, parks, zoological parks and in important places were people used to congregate in large numbers.
Besides mobile camps were also organised to target the moving population. Chief Minister M.K.Stalin has already requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide additional 50 lakh doses of Covid vaccines to the State every week to cover the eligible uncovered population by 31 October.