First give vaccine to Covid-19 frontline warriors, TDP tells YSRCP government

Amaravati: Telugu Desam Party leader and Repalle MLA Anagani Satya Prasad on Monday made a strong plea to the YSRCP government to give priority to frontline warriors like doctors, police, journalists and health workers whenever the vaccination drive would begin against coronavirus epidemic in the State.

In a letter to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy here, Satya Prasad stressed the need for covering all the frontline workers in the first month. The Andhra Pradesh government has proposed to administer over 1 crore doses in one month once it gets the vaccine supply from the Central Government.

Satya Prasad said that doctors, health workers, police, media persons and sanitation staff deserved first doses as they have been risking their lives to save people ever since the first infection case surfaced in March this year.

The TDP MLA told the Chief Minister that there was also an urgent need for increasing the vaccine storage capacity from the existing 1.46 lakh litres to 3 lakh litres in the State so that there would be no future problems in meeting the full requirements of all sections of people. The government has proposed to cover 70 persons in one session, and it decided to administer the vaccine to 1 crore people in one month's time. The storage capacity would have to be enhanced to meet this requirement.

Satya Prasad reminded the Chief Minister of the fact that the frontline warriors rendered their wholehearted services and even mobilised masks at their own cost in the absence of support from the government even at the height of virus infections. They rendered unforgettable services amid risk situations. Over 13 doctors, 10 journalists and five policemen sacrificed their lives in the cause of saving the public from the deadly virus.

The TDP legislator said that the government did not bother to extend Rs 50 lakh health insurance cover to the frontline warriors as per the guidelines. At least now, the Jagan regime should provide all the necessary assistance to the families of the frontline warriors who lost their lives in the fight against the infections.