11 eminent docs will take jabs on 1st day of TN vaccine drive

11 eminent docs will take jabs on 1st day of TN vaccine drive

Vaccination At 166 Centres Across State

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:16.01.2021

At least 11 eminent doctors, including Apollo Hospitals chairman Dr Prathap Reddy, ENT surgeon Dr Mohan Kameshwaran and Dr MGR Medical University vice-chancellor Dr Sudha Seshayyan, will be among the first to take Covid-19 vaccine as part of the nation-wide drive set to start on Saturday.

“The wait has ended, I will take the vaccine at 10.30am,” said Dr Sudha Sehayyan, who will be taking the vaccine from Rajiv Gandhi Government GH, her alma mater. Senior ENT surgeon Dr Mohan Kameshwaran, who will visit Apollo Hospitals, said, “I trust the vaccine can help me and a lot of people. It can put an end to the pandemic,” he said.

After the PM flags off the event in Delhi, chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami will inaugurate the drive from Rajaji Government GH in Madurai. Healthcare workers will then start inoculating doctors, nurses, medicos, paramedics and other healthcare workers. On Saturday,166 centres — both government and private — across the state will offer the vaccine, director of public health Dr TS Selvavinayagam said. Tamil Nadu has received 5.56 lakh doses of vaccines – 5.36 lakh doses of Serum Institute’s Covishield and 20,000 doses of Covaxin manufactured by Bharat Biotech. Covaxin will be available in six centres. “At all these centres, beneficiaries can make a choice between the vaccines. If they are taking Covaxin, they have to sign a consent form,” he said. Ophthalmologist Dr Mohan Rajan, MGM director Dr Prasanth Rajagopalan, heads of doctors’ associations and deans of government medical colleges Dr R Jayanthi and Dr ETheranirajan will also be taking the vaccine on Saturday.

‘Drive now can help avert second wave’

Amid significant decline in active Covid cases in India, experts say the timing of the vaccine rollout is apt as it can help avoid a new wave, particularly in the wake of the new UK strain, reports Sushmi Dey. Meanwhile, Serum will dispatch its first overseas consignment of 20 lakh doses of Covishield vaccine to Brazil in two weeks. SEE INSIDE FLAP

Cases filed against 25 theatres in city

The city police have booked cases against at least 25 theatres for screening Vijay-starrer “Master” for not adhering to the 50% occupancy norm. A special police team kept a tab on social media to find if theatres were following the Covid-19 occupancy norm. A team of the MGR Nagar police station found 100% occupancy at 11am show. P 2