Hyderabad: Raising the stakes in its battle against Covid-19, Telangana recorded one lakh Covid tests and one lakh vaccinations in 24 hours on Thursday. The rare double came after Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao asked the Health Department to ramp up Covid testing and vaccination.
The massive jump in tests and vaccinations saw 1,01,986 tests in more than 1,000 healthcare facilities across the State along with 1,02,886 vaccinations in the same period.
Of the vaccine beneficiaries, 96,385 individuals comprising all priority age groups received the first dose while 6,501 individuals got the second dose.
The Chief Minister had issued instructions a few days ago, asking health authorities and District Collectors to steadily ramp up administration of Covid-19 vaccines and conduct at least one lakh Covid tests a day, so that more infections were detected quickly and affected individuals isolated at the earliest.
Senior health officials including the Director of Public Health (DPH) said a similar high rate of testing and vaccination would continue for some more weeks, as it was important to identify Covid infections early to stop the Covid second wave and at the same time, complete the vaccination at a quicker pace.
“Telangana has achieved a unique ‘double’ in detecting and vaccinating against Covid infection. Both have crossed the one lakh mark on a single day. I urge the public to display the same kind of enthusiasm and turn up in large numbers to access Covid vaccines and those with symptoms to get tested at the nearest government healthcare facility. If this awareness is displayed for a few more months, we will be able to win this fight against the second Covid wave,” Public Health Director Dr G Srinivasa Rao said on Friday.
Overall, since the first Covid-19 case was detected in March 2020, the health wing has conducted 1,07,61,939 Covid tests. The total number of individuals, including all priority age groups, healthcare and frontline workers, who have so far received the first dose of the Covid vaccine, is 14,99,801 while 2,83,407 have received the second dose.
“I must appreciate the Covid warriors in both the public and private healthcare sector for stepping up and achieving this rare record. It is because of their untiring efforts that we have been able to achieve one lakh vaccinations and one lakh Covid rapid antigen tests in a single day,” Dr Srinivasa Rao said.
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