Lt. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has appealed for greater public participation in the adoption of safety norms and volunteering for immunisation for tackling the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Inaugurating the ‘Tika Utsav’ (vaccine festival) at the Government Primary School in Pakkamudaiyanpet as part of a nation-wide campaign from April 11 to 14, the Lt. Governor said even if the government did everything possible for the prevention of COVID-19, the contribution of the public was vital in ensuring the effectiveness of these measures.
The Lt. Governor, who also visited the Don Bosco Higher Secondary School and Primary Health Centre in Lawspet, noted with satisfaction that people had been giving good support to the vaccination initiative by getting themselves inoculated in full confidence that the shot will not cause any harm.
The ‘vaccine festival’ is being organised across 100 sites to administer the shots free of cost to those above 45 years of age.
She urged the beneficiary population to utilise the opportunity.
Seeking greater public support for stopping the pandemic, Ms. Soundararajan said as the pandemic was once again spreading rapidly in Puducherry, the government was taking various measures to prevent it and the vaccine festival was one of the steps aimed at those above 45 years of age.
Boosting participation
To increase participation, meetings had been held with religious leaders, voluntary organisations, medical practitioners and other influencers in society.
Citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on helping each other in vaccination, treatment and prevention, Ms. Soundararajan also stressed the message of family members and community members creating micro-containment zones among themselves when a positive case is detected in their neighbourhood.
Interacting with the media, she said adequate beds had been made available in institutions, including private medical colleges to cope with a second wave.
Among those who were present were C. Chandramouli, adviser to the Lt. Governor, T. Arun, Health Secretary, Ashok Kumar, Higher Education Secretary, and G. Sriramulu, State Health Mission Director.