All the citizens of the State aged between 18 and 45 would be vaccinated free of cost, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy announced here on Friday.
This was one of the major decisions taken during an extensive meeting the Chief Minister held on the COVID-19 vaccination. Another major decision taken was to impose night curfew in the State between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy further instructed the officials to decentralise the markets as was done during the first wave in 2020.
The Chief Minister also made it clear that the SSC, Intermediate, degree and engineering examinations would be conducted as per schedule.
“Ensure that the essential drugs are not sold in the black market. Also ensure a tight vigil on the supply of Remdesivir and evolve an SOP on the distribution of vital injections. If you find any racket of sorts, crackdown on it. Also, increase testing and take stringent action against hospitals collecting excessive fees for treating COVID-19 patients,” said Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The Chief Minister also asked the officials to ensure that the ‘104’ service functioned properly. He also asked the officials to increase the number of transport vehicles bringing oxygen, and said that 284 tonnes of oxygen was being used daily in the hospitals. In 208 COVID hospitals, 21,581 beds were available, out of which 11,789 were occupied, he added.
Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas, Ministers Botcha Satyanarayana and M. Sucharitha, DGP Gautam Sawang, Special CS (Health) Anil Kumar Singhal, Secretary (Transport) M.T. Krishna Babu, Secretary (School Education) B. Rajasekhar, and Commissioner of Health K. Bhaskar were present.