Social influencers urged to allay fears on Covid vaccination

CHENNAI: “Only the vaccine can protect us from Covid,” actor Vivek said and appealed all to receive the jab at the earliest. Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan, who accompanied Vivek for vaccination at Government Omandurar Hospital on Thursday, said that more and more social influencers must come forward and spread awareness on the vaccines.

Addressing reporters at the hospital, Vivek said, “People should not be afraid of any side-effects for these vaccines. Both Covishield and Covaxin will only save us. In case they don’t prevent Covid completely, the vaccines will at least reduce infection severity. Siddha and Ayurveda medicines are all secondary. It is our primary weapon to beat the virus.”

Thanking Vivek for taking the initiative, Dr J Radhakrishnan said that these messages will allay fears of the public. “Despite the increase in cases in our State, our mortality rate is only around 1.3 per cent. Still people need to be very cautious and follow all Covid norms. Only 10 per cent of hospital beds are filled by Covid patients in Tamil Nadu, while around 20 per cent is filled in Chennai,” he said.

To help people select the form of hospitalisation or home isolation needed, a control room has been set up at the Directorate of Medical Education premises. “Many people in Chennai and Coimbatore are visiting hospitals directly even for mild cases.

So we have established this control room to help people choose the right form of treatment needed,” the Health Secretary added. Radhakrishnan also said that the Centre’s ‘Tika Utsav’ was for spreading awareness and not a target-based approach. “Our daily vaccination target must be set at 2 lakh,” he further said.