HUBBALLI: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will be leaving for New Delhi on Thursday to discuss administering vaccine booster doses to Health and Frontline workers to protect them from a possible third wave of of Coronavirus.
The issue of vaccinating health and frontline workers has come foreword after the new variant of Covid-19 'Omicron' is making headlines. The stand of the Karnataka government is that at least the staff who are at the forefront of the battle against the Covid pandemic should get another dose of the vaccine. Chief Minister Bommai is also pushing hard for this.
Bommai told reporters on Wednesday, "I will be meeting Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and try to understand from him on scientific progress on administering the booster dose and the Central government's recommendation on it. I will push for giving booster dose to health and frontline workers".
Further, he said, already the issue of inoculating booster doses has been discussed at the Task Force and the experts and it was a unanimous opinion that at the Health workers should get that. He would take up these matters with the Central minister, he said adding that as already over six months elapsed to their first and second vaccination shots.
Refusing to make vaccination compulsory and linking it with the government facilities, the chief minister said, no such consideration were before the government, but the ongoing inoculation campaign would be intensified.
Explaining the strict measures taken to contain the spread of the new variant 'Omicron', Bommai said, first and foremost strict vigil on international travellers at airports and testing each one arriving at Bengaluru and Mangalur international airports. Despite their testing negative, they would be asked to quarantine for seven days. No laxity shown on those entering into the State, especially from the Kerala side, he added.
"BSY, HDK to decide"
Senior party leader B S Yedidyurappa and H D Kumaraswamy would take the final decision on the pact between the BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) for ensuing election for local body constituencies of the Legislative Council, the chief minister said
Bommai said, in fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda might have discussed many issues during their meeting on Tuesday, but the decision on alliance for the council poll has been left to local leadership and accordingly Yediyurappa and Kumaraswamy would decide on that.