Thiruvananthapuram: Health minister Veena George has said that the government's priority is to vaccinate all people above the age of 45 years within two to three months.
The minister said the government was concerned about the number of vaccines allowed by the Centre. At present, the state has vaccine stock for just three days.
She said the state is yet to overcome the second wave of Covid. The disease spread could be controlled effectively only if social distancing norms and other preventive methods are strictly complied with even at home, the minister said.
The minister said that the understanding as of now is that the third wave might affect people below 18 years of age. Hence, full-fledged paediatric and child health care wings would be put in place in prominent hospitals. Special training is being imparted to health care providers to handle any situation.
She said oxygen plants would be made mandatory in hospitals with more than 50 beds. Funds from PM Care would be utilised for this purpose.
'No need to worry about Lambda variant'
New Delhi: NITI Aayog member Dr VK Paul has said that the Lambda variant of Coronavirus which has spread in 30 countries, is not an issue of worry for India. The presence of the Lambda variant has not been confirmed in India yet.
Dr Paul said the availability of vaccines has increased significantly. He said the vaccines in private hospitals should also be made use of. As of now, the government is able to provide 41 lakh vaccines daily, he said
Pregnant women should take Covid vaccine
The union health ministry has said that all vaccines available in India are safe for pregnant women. The vaccines are beneficial and it is important for all pregnant women to get vaccinated.
All above 18 years to be vaccinated this year
Central Covid Panel chairman Dr N K Arora has said that all above the age of 18 years in the country would be administered the Covid vaccine by the end of the current year. He said while the Centre is trying to increase the availability of vaccines, the state governments should also increase the number of vaccination centres.
WHO approval
The chances of Covaxin getting WHO approval has brightened. WHO chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan said the data of the third phase trial submitted by Bharat Biotech was excellent and it complied with the safety norms.
Third dose of Pfizer
A booster dose of Pfizer vaccine would be required for increasing immunity against Covid, according to a study. The Pfizer vaccine is being widely used across the world including the US. Two doses are considered complete. However, a third dose would be more beneficial. According to the reports, the booster dose would be beneficial against beta and delta variants.
Sriram to manage Covid treatment data
Thiruvananthapuram: Health department joint secretary Sriram Venkataraman has been entrusted with the task of data management of Covid treatment facilities in the government and private hospitals in the state.
The details about the treatment facilities are being collected in view of the impending third wave. The details regarding total beds, ICU beds, ventilators, oxygen facilities would be collected as part of the exercise.
