BENGALURU: Karnataka has vaccinated over 48 lakh people, and stands at sixth position among states, since the immunisation drive was rolled out on January 16. Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said, “Over 48.05 lakh people were vaccinated till Monday, and 1,95,554 people got the jab in the past 24 hours. Over 22.5 lakh people who were vaccinated are aged over 60, and 10.4 lakh people are in the 45-59 age group. Karnataka is in 6th position in the country in implementing the vaccination drive. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are other states leading the drive. The Union Government provided an additional 15 lakh doses of vaccine on Monday.”
The minister pointed out that a vaccinated person is not completely immunised from infection. “The severity of the infection will be less in those who are vaccinated. We have seen instances of those who are not vaccinated being admitted in ICUs. I urge all eligible persons to take the vaccine without hesitation,” he said. The state has reserved 33,697 beds for Covid-19 patients, with 15,733 oxygenated beds available in government hospitals, of which 10,083 beds are reserved for Covid cases.
On a possible lockdown, he said Karnataka should not face the situation that Maharashtra does. “People need to cooperate. We have received requests from the movie industry to allow 100 per cent seating in cinema halls. I will discuss it with the CM, who will take a final decision,” he said.
SUDHAKAR ASKS CENTRE FOR MORE VACCINES
Bengaluru: Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Tuesday said he had appealed to the Centre to provide more vaccines to the state. Speaking to media persons after participating in the Union Health Ministry’s video conference with health ministers of 11 states and Union Territories, he said that the Centre had praised the Karnataka government for the number of RT-PCR tests being done. He added that the state government also spoke on increasing the oxygen available for patients. On Covid guidelines, he insisted that the norms should be uniform across the country regarding cinema halls, inter-state travel, meetings and other gatherings.