COVID-19 affected should defer shots by 3 months

COVID-19 affected should defer shots by 3 months

Ministry recommends vaccination for nursing mothers

20/05/2021

Battle continues: A health worker administering vaccine to a youth in Bhopal on Wednesday.A.M. FARUQUI

Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

Vaccination should be deferred by three months after recovery in individuals having lab test proven SARS-2 COVID-19 illness, said the Health Ministry in a statement issued on Wednesday.

COVID-19 patients who have been given anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma should also defer vaccination by three months from the date of discharge from the hospital. The Ministry also recommended COVID-19 vaccination for all nursing mothers.

The Ministry said it had accepted the recommendations of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC). “These recommendations have been based on the evolving situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and emerging global scientific evidence and experience,” it stated.

It recommended that individuals who have received at least the first dose of the vaccine and got the infection before the completion of the dosing schedule should also defer by three months the second dose after clinical recovery from COVID-19.

Blood donation

“Persons with any other serious general illness requiring hospitalisation or ICU care should also wait for 4-8 weeks before getting the COVID-19 vaccine,’’ it noted. Also an individual could donate blood after 14 days of either receipt of COVID-19 vaccine or testing RT-PCR negative, if suffering from COVID-19.

There was no requirement for screening of the vaccine recipients by Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) prior to vaccination. The matter of vaccination of pregnant women was under discussion and further deliberation by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI).

“The Health Ministry has written to States and UTs to direct the officials concerned to take note of these recommendations and undertake necessary action for their effective implementation. States have also been advised to undertake training of the vaccination staff at all levels,’’ said the release.

Harrowing tales from TN’s hinterland

Harrowing tales from TN’s hinterland

V Mayilvaganan@timesgroup.com

20.05.2021 

May 15 turned out to be a nightmare for G Mithun, 41, of Krishnagiri town. It was only two days ago that his 37-year-old younger brother’s oxygen levels dropped to 65 and he managed to get a bed in Krishnagiri government hospital after much struggle. But, much to his shock, the oxygen mask provided in the hospital was damaged and the gas was leaking.

Mithun says neither did the hospital staff provide an alternative mask nor was his offer to buy an oxygen mask was entertained. It was only after the issue was taken to the district collector V Jaya Chandra Bhanu Reddy when he came to the hospital for inspection, the hospital staff replaced the damaged one with a new oxygen mask.

Government hospitals in smaller towns and semi urban areas overflow with such tales of sufferings when the state’s rural hinterland is witnessing a surge in Covid cases.

There are barely any beds left in government hospitals in tier 3 cities and small towns. The number of doctors and nurses are highly disproportionate to the number of Covid patients in these hospitals. Mithun said one nurse served at least 10 patients in the covid ward of Krishnagiri GH.

The conditions prevailing in government hospitals are panicking Covid patients, said a relative of an elderly Covid patient in Ramanathapuram government hospital. He alleged attendants of the patients are forced to be in close proximity due to space shortage.

In Trichy, a total of 154 doctors and 150 regular staff nurses and 72 staff nurses on contractual basis have been overstretched to manage ten government hospitals in the district. “Three doctors at Thuvakudi GH turned positive for Covid-19 today. Remaining staff are on multiple shifts,’’ said a doctor.

This at a time when rural and semi urban areas are reporting a spike in cases. Tirupur, for instance, has reported a sharp spike in cases as the spinning mills and garment units in the district have turned into micro clusters. The district jumped from 800 cases a day to more than 1500 cases daily for the past two days.

In Coimbatore district, the number of cases in rural areas has increased from 30 % a week ago, to 41 % now as scores of people from remote villages and tribal hamlets have been reporting positive cases. ``The trend shows that cases first spread from core city to peripheries and then to suburban areas and then to villages,’’ said a health officer.

Test positivity rate (TPR) is among the highest in the state in few rural and semi – urban districts. While Kanyakumari and Theni reported a TPR of 26 %, higher than Chennai (23), Tuticorin and Ramnathapuram followed with 24% TPR as of May 15. Except for Tuticorin these districts had been reporting lesser TPR. But steadily cases shot up like a village in Ariyalur, where 21 people on a street tested positive the same day.

(With inputs from Padmini Sivarajah and R Gokul)

Some attendants in ICU forcefully evicted

Some attendants in ICU forcefully evicted

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:20.05.2021 

From transferring deans of government medical college hospitals to using police force for clearing unauthorised attendants from Covid-19 wards, the government has taken stringent measures to prevent the spread.

Health minister M Subramanian said that during a visit to Salem’s Government Kumaramangalam Medical College he was upset about the isolation area not being sterile. “Deans of some medical colleges were transferred last week as they failed to follow Covid protocols. Most doctors and nurses work hard. Such violation can lead to super-spreader events and cause lot of problems. We know the present strain is highly infectious,” he told TOI.

Many relatives of patients, however, refused to leave the hospital wards. At Chennai’s Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and Coimbatore’s ESI Hospital, some of who were removed from treatment wards and corridors, protested on Wednesday. Some of claimed there were not enough nurses and staff inside wards to take care of patients. At Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital in Chennai, attendants complained that there were only four nurses for every 100 patients in Covid wards.

While authorities denied the charges, nurses at these hospitals admitted they were under-staffed. “The entire workforce on roll is unavailable because some are infected, some are in quarantine and few others are posted in Covid care centres outside the hospital premises,” said a senior RGGGH nurse, requesting anonymity.

The protest by relatives lasted nearly two hours until police arrived to disperse the crowd. Only one attender was allowed for each patient in oxygen-supported beds or critical care units to take care of the food and other essential needs. Slips were provided to authorised attenders.

The same rule was followed at Stanley and Omandurar medical college hospitals, said doctors.

Protests by attendants of Covid patients, who were evicted, were common in hospitals in Chennai and Coimbatore on Wednesday

Vax hesitancy a major challenge for TN govt, says health minister

Vax hesitancy a major challenge for TN govt, says health minister

Jayaraj Sivan & Pushpa Narayan TNN

Chennai:20.05.2021 

The biggest challenge for Tamil Nadu government in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic is the hesitancy of the people in rural areas and the poor in urban centres to get vaccinated, said state health minister M Subramanian in an interview to TOI. “We create awareness among people to get themselves vaccinated. We tell them that if adults get vaccinated, it would encourage children to get inoculated when their turn comes. Another major challenge is delay by people in seeking medical care in Tamil Nadu,” he said.

Indifference of political executives and bureaucratic slackness since February, when the assembly elections were set in motion, resulted in abnormal increase in Covid infection and Tamil Nadu’s medical infrastructure getting overstretched, he said. “However, this is not the time to play the blame game. Our job is to set things right and we are at it,” he said.

Subramanian is cracking the whip to rein in erring medicos who throw the government guidelines and Covid protocols to the wind. He has transferred deans of a few medical colleges for permitting attendants of Covid patients inside Covid wards and ICUs, despite government orders prohibiting it. Many others have been put on notice for flouting norms. The pandemic may have hit the peak in Tamil Nadu and going by the present trend, it could subside within a month, he said. Daily fresh cases in Chennai has remained below 7,000 for four days in a row. The numbers have plateaued in several other districts, he said. FULL Q&A: P2

Fight Covid with CSR funds: CM

Chief minister M K Stalin on Wednesday urged representatives of industries to give priority to Covid-19 related requirements like oxygen concentrators and cryogenic tanks in their corporate social responsibility initiatives in TN. P 7

Perarivalan gets 30-day parole

Perarivalan gets 30-day parole

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:20.05.2021 

A G Perarivalan, a life convict in the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, was given 30-day parole (ordinary leave) by Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday.

Chief Minister M K Stalin issued the order, considering the plea of Perarivalan’s mother Arputhammal, to allow him to go on ordinary leave for 30 days as per the provision of the Tamil Nadu Prisoners Manual. A couple of days ago, Arputhammal appealed to the CM requesting him to grant her son parole. In her petition, she stated that the ravaging pandemic and the spread of covid cases in prison would put her son in danger as he has health issues. After completing formalities, he will be allowed to go on parole from Central Prison at Puzhal, where he has been undergoing imprisonment in the last few years.

‘Do not hand over vaccine facility to private parties’

‘Do not hand over vaccine facility to private parties’

Chennai:20.07.2021 

Expressing shocking over reports that the Union government has decided to hand over its integrated vaccine complex at Chengalpet to private parties, PMK’s Anbumani Ramadoss urged the Centre to drop its move or hand over the facility to the Tamil Nadu government. “The state could take over the complex and manufacture more vaccines than proposed to be procured from private players,” he said. TNN

38-yr-old man gets trapped inside burning car, charred to death

38-yr-old man gets trapped inside burning car, charred to death

Was Driving At High Speed To Avoid Police Checkpoints

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:

A 38-year-old man was charred to death after his car caught fire as it crashed into an electric transformer near Pallakaranai on Tuesday morning. Unable to come out of the vehicle, the man died.

The deceased was Khaja Mohideen of VGP Shanthi Nagar in Pallikaranai. He was an assistant manager at a showroom in Nungambakkam. The showroom was closed due to lockdown but on Tuesday morning Mohideen went out for some personal work and was returning home after 10am. He was driving fast as he did not want to be stopped at police checkpoints as surveillance has been intensified for eregistration.

Around 11am, on VGP Shanthi Nagar Main Road, Mohideen lost control of the vehicle and crashed into electric transformer. Police said that within a few seconds the transformer caught fire which soon spread to the car.

Hearing the noise, residents came out only to see the car ablaze. The doors of the vehicle got stuck and Mohideen could not release the seat belt and come out. Onlookers could see him struggling inside but stood helpless as the entire car was ablaze.

They were even scared to go near as the transformer too caught fire. They informed the fire and rescue team and the police. The Medavakam rescue team rushed to the spot and doused the fire. By the time they broke open the door, Mohideen was already dead. The Pallikaranai police retrieved the body and sent it for postmortem to the Chromepet Government Hospital. St Thomas Mount traffic investigation police registered a case and are investigating.

Automobile engineers said tension adjustment system in seat belt operating mechanism is designed to get locked when it senses a sudden deceleration so that passengers are not thrown forward.

UP IN FLAMES: The car caught fire after it crashed into a transformer on VGP Shanthi Nagar Main Road