TN health experts on tenterhooks as vaccination drive slows down

TN health experts on tenterhooks as vaccination drive slows down

Don’t Have Vaccines; Have Written To Centre: TN

Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:25.05.2021

The pace of vaccination against Covid-19 has slowed down drastically across the state over the last 15 days, worrying public health experts as a large population including those in the vulnerable category remain exposed. On Sunday, less than 30,000 people took the jab, compared to 99,529 on May 6. The highest ever single-day vaccinations were recorded on April 15 when more than 2.1 lakh people got it.

Between May 17 and 23, the average number of people receiving the vaccine daily came down to 48,566 compared to nearly 70,000 on May 15 and 69,574 on May 16. “We don’t have a choice,” said health minister Ma Subramanian. “We don’t have the vaccines. The vaccine centres allotted covers around 6.4% of our population (8.3 crore). We have written to the Centre seeking more vaccines. A preferential allocation was given to other states. Gujarat received vaccines to cover 16.4% of its 6.3 crore population,” he said.

Since January, Tamil Nadu received 80.3 lakh doses of Covaxin and Covishield from the Centre as part of the national wide drive to vaccinate healthcare providers, frontline workers, senior citizens and people above 45 years. “Of this, we received 1.9 lakh doses on Monday morning. So, of the 78.4 lakh doses we used 72.4 lakh doses until Sunday. We had around 1 lakh doses in regional and district vaccine stores when we rolled out the programme on Sunday morning after discounting wastage of close to 5 lakh doses in the first wave for various reasons.”

With increase in demand, vaccine wastage has dropped from nearly 13% in February to less than 5% now, he said. Ironically, when people came to the centres, there were no vaccines. As a result, the health department reduced vaccine sessions from around 3,000 earlier this month to 2,500 this week.

At a recent medical expert committee meeting, public health experts including WHO chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan asked the state to ramp up vaccination.

On Monday, the 1.9 lakh doses of Covishield received were disbursed to the district and regional vaccine centres. “We don’t stock vaccines at warehouses. They are distributed to the field so we can vaccinate as many people as possible quickly,” said joint director (immunisation) Dr K Vinay Kumar.

On Monday, many vaccine centres continued to offer Covaxin only as a second dose. Many who came for vaccinations in districts by late afternoon were turned back due to shortage. On Monday, the state vaccinated 92,614 people including 55,623 people in the 18 to 44 age group. On Sunday, around 8532 people in the same age group took their vaccines.

Mid-air wedding over Madurai: SpiceJet crew taken off roster

Mid-air wedding over Madurai: SpiceJet crew taken off roster

Saurabh.Sinha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi/Madurai:25.05.2021

A mid-air wedding — with close to 130 wedding guests on board, most of whom not following Covid protocol — has invited regulatory wrath.

The SpiceJet charter flight had taken off from Madurai on Sunday morning. The couple, Meenakshi Rajesh and Dhikshana, got married while the aircraft was airborne for about two hours. They completed the rituals as the plane circled over the Meenakshi Amman temple, before returning to Madurai.

However, the violation of Covid protocol has cost the airline and the wedding guests dear. A senior official of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said: “The pilots and cabin crew who operated this flight have been off-rostered (taken off duty). The airline has been directed to lodge complaints against those not following Covid-appropriate behaviour with relevant authorities. We have sought all details from the airline and will conduct a detailed inquiry. Action will be taken based on the outcome of the probe.”

NUPTIAL TURBULENCE: Meenakshi Rajesh and Dhikshana performed the rituals as the aircraft circled over the Meenakshi Amman temple

All guests briefed on Covid norms: SpiceJet

SpiceJet says its Boeing 737 was booked by a travel agent for a “post-wedding joy ride” and that all guests were briefed on the norms to be followed in these times both at the airport and onboard, and no permission was given for any activity on board. It said the group was advised to follow the protocols laid down by DGCA including restrictions on photography and videography. “Despite repeated requests and reminders, the passengers did not follow Covid guidelines and the airline is taking appropriate action as per rules,” said a SpiceJet spokesman.

Sources say the airline/ airport staff should have been able to sense the onboard wedding as people boarded the plane with garlands (varmala), with the bride and groom dressed in their trousseau. “On seeing all this, the wedding party should have been warned beforehand to follow all Covid protocol onboard. The violations could have been avoided,” said sources.

Madurai district administration has also served a notice to the airline and the family which hired the plane, seeking an explanation.

Full report on www.toi.in

JEE (M) April-May rounds may be held in July-August

JEE (M) April-May rounds may be held in July-August

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:25.05.2021

In the event of CBSE conducting Class XII board exams in 19 “major subjects” from August 1-20, which is being considered as one of the options amid the pandemic, the National Testing Agency (NTA) is likely to conduct the deferred April and May rounds of JEE (Main) in end of July and August. The agency is also looking at holding NEET-UG for admission to medical courses in pen-paper mode in September, for which registration may start from July 1, NTA sources said.

Sources said the decision to roll out the Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUCET) will depend on the fate of the Class XII board exams.

Various states are likely to submit their suggestions on conduct of Class XII board and other entrance exams on Tuesday to the ministry of education, and CBSE is likely to review the situation on June 1.

A government source said, “Everything rests on when the Class XII board exams are conducted and in what format. NTA is working on a number of combinations depending on different situations that may arise.”

In case CBSE goes for the second option to hold board exams in two phases, the deferred April round of JEE (Main) is either likely to be held in the second week of July (as the first phase of CBSE exam is likely to commence from July 15 or in the first week of August. “In that case, the May-round of the engineering entrance test may even be pushed to first or second week of September,” the source said.

Full report on www.toi.in

WhatsApp won’t withdraw privacy update

WhatsApp won’t withdraw privacy update

Pankaj.Doval@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:25.05.2021

Under pressure from the government to withdraw its privacy update in India, WhatsApp refused to comply, but issued a face saver, saying it will “not limit the functionality” of users at least till the country gets a data protection law.

The company has been under pressure from the government, fairplay regulator Competition Commission and the courts over its privacy update which it implemented from May

15. WhatsApp says if a user does not want to update to the new norms, the person’s app will not lose any functionality, though the user will surely be sent reminders to step up. “We will not limit the functionality of how WhatsApp works in the coming weeks… We will maintain this approach until at least the forthcoming personal data protection law comes into effect,” a company spokesperson said.

Vaccination of 18-44 years age group in Madurai from today

FOR ESSENTIAL WORKERS

Vaccination of 18-44 years age group in Madurai from today

Devanathan.Veerappan@timesgroup.com

Madurai:25.05.2021

The Madurai Corporation is planning to vaccinate people in the 18-44 age group category from essential services sector and volunteers, who are considered to be a high risk group, on Tuesday onwards.

A health official from Madurai district said that vaccination for the high risk group will be carried out through camps. They have been talking with representatives from various sectors such as banking, insurance, TNSTC, medical shop employees and Chamber of Commerce to cover workers in essential industries, railways and vegetable and fruit markets. “We have received 57,000 doses purchased by the state exclusively for people above

18. These will not be given at the regular vaccinations centres since it will get mixed up with the vaccinations given by the centre for the 45 and above category people. Out of the 57,000 doses, 50,000 is Covishield while the rest is Covaxin,” he said.

Special camps for auto rickshaw drivers will be considered after providing jabs for people from other sectors as auto rickshaw operation is banned during the lockdown period, he added.

“We have not got any communication on vaccination for above 18 people from the state government. It might take off after the lockdown period as crowd control amid complete lockdown will be difficult if vaccination is started for them now,” the official added.

Some of the private hospitals in the city resumed vaccination for above 18 people on Monday. Although people were asked to visit the centre after prior booking, there was a huge crowd in hospitals like Apollo in Madurai. Youths stood in line for a long time before their turn. A large number of vehicles were found parked on both sides of the Lake View Road, where the hospital is located.

Stalin urges people to follow all lockdown norms strictly

Stalin urges people to follow all lockdown norms strictly

‘Stringent Lockdown Necessary’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:25.05.2021

Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Monday appealed to the people to comply with the stringent lockdown norms to break the chain of transmission of Corona virus and help the state return to normalcy.

Stalin called the intense lockdown, which came into effect on Monday, a “bitter medicine” and said people should take it in the best interest of the state.

The daily cases have crossed 35,000 and it remains scary. States smaller than Tamil Nadu witnessed more than 50,000 Covid cases per day, but the curve was flattening there, he said. Tamil Nadu is inching towards that, said Stalin in a video message. He emphasised the importance of complying with strict lockdown norms, taking vaccine and taking precautions to prevent the spread of the virus. People should not venture out of their houses except for medical emergencies, he said.

Reacting to criticisms that his government was not acting, Stalin said his government, despite being just two-weeks old, had implemented many welfare schemes and taken efforts to bail out the state from the grip of the pandemic.

He justified the decision to go for complete lockdown without relaxations and said a large section of people misused the lockdown that was enforced from May 10 to May 24 early morning.

“The lockdown with relaxations has resulted in a marginal dip in the number of fresh cases, but the pandemic is not under control. Hence, stringent lockdown is necessary,” he said and noted that if the lockdown norms are adhered to, the state can get back to normalcy and ensure industrial growth and development of infrastructure.

The lockdown with relaxations has resulted in a marginal dip in the number of fresh cases, but the pandemic is not under control. Hence, stringent lockdown is necessary

M K Stalin | CHIEF MINISTER

No licence? Court reduces accident relief from ₹8L to ₹50,000

No licence? Court reduces accident relief from ₹8L to ₹50,000

K.Kaushik@timesgroup.com

Madurai:25.05.2021

Observing that negligence on the part of the driver must be established to avail compensation under Section 166 of Motor Vehicles Act, Madras high court reduced the compensation awarded to the family members of an accident victim from ₹8.02 lakh to ₹50,000. The case involvedthedeath of a woman after the two-wheeler on which she rode pillion with her husband skidded in Thanjavur district in August 2013.

Selvam and his wife Pushpalatha were travelling on the bike near Poonayiruppu village when a cow crossed the road. When he applied brakes, the vehicle skidded and they fell. While both of them sustained injuries, Pushpalatha died at the hospital on the same day. Selvam and his daughters moved the Thanjavur motor accidents claims tribunal seeking compensation. The tribunal passed an order in 2015 directing the insurance company to pay ₹8.02lakh compensation holding that there was no negligence on the part of Selvam who rode the two-wheeler. Challenging the order, the insurance company filed the present civil miscellaneous appeal before the Madurai bench of the high court.

Justice K Murali Shankar observed that in a claim under Section 166 of the Act, it is compulsory to show that someone is guilty of negligent driving and then only, the owner of the offending vehicle can be made liable. In the case on hand, there is no evidence to show that the negligent driving of the offending vehicle was responsible for the accident. The insurance company had submitted that Selvam did not have a driving licence and paid a fine for the same before the trial court.

The judge observed as to what more evidence or material are necessary to show that the insurance policy condition has been violated. The judge observed the claimants are only entitled to get compensation under Section 140 of the Act, which is ₹50,000.