Tirupati: 23K vaccinated in pilgrim city

Tirupati: As many as 23,500 people are vaccinated (till March 18) against Covid-19 in the pilgrim city. The Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT) Health department took up walk-in-registration in select places like schools and hostels as part of its outreach vaccination programme to cover more people under vaccination drive going on nationwide.

Corporation Health Officer Dr D T Sudharani said that all the Urban Health Centres and Municipal Health Centre in the city were taking up the spot registration for vaccination and added that all those who completed 60 years and those between 45-59 with comorbidities were allowed to take up vaccination against Covid.

Seeking the public to shed apprehensions on the vaccination, she asserted that the vaccination was totally safe and a simple procedure while stressing on everyone completed 60 years to get vaccinated in any of the UHCs near their residence, producing their Aadhar card which is must for registration and vaccination.

The Health Officer on Saturday inspected shops and commercial establishments in the city to ascertain the complacency of Covid guidelines to prevent spread of virus, keeping in view the spike in cases in the pilgrim city which reported 63 cases, the highest after relapse of Covid cases, in the last 24 hours alerting the civic and district administration.

She said that all the medical officers of UHCs were directed to take field visits to symptomatic people while Health department to take up regular inspection covering schools, hostels, shops, tiffin centres, bus stand and railway stations to ensure Covid guidelines.

ASHA, Ward Health Secretaries and volunteers to find out the symptomatic people in their areas for taking them to SVRR government hospital for RT-PCR test and also take up follow up action including identifying the primary and secondary contacts if anyone found positive based on the test, for home isolation to check the spread of Covid, she explained.

Following a student in the social welfare hotel for girls tested positive at Chennareddy colony, RT-PCR test was conducted to 48 girls in the hostels, she said and informed that 5,289 RT-PCR tests were conducted since March 1 after the surge in Covid cases in the city.

Stating that deterrent actions like imposing fines taken up, Sudharani said that the Health department teams will take up surprise checks and impose fines if anyone found without mask and also on the commercial establishments failed to stick to Covid norms.