Around one crore people aged 18 to 44 and nearly 50 lakh people aged over 45, mostly senior citizens, are yet to take the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines in Tamil Nadu, said Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan.
Making an appeal to all eligible people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, he said Tamil Nadu had so far achieved 75% first-dose coverage and 38% second-dose coverage.
Over 72 lakh people were due or overdue for the second dose, he said.
The Health Secretary said unvaccinated and incompletely vaccinated people continued to pose a risk not just to themselves, but also to the community at large. They should view it as their duty to ensure that efforts to prevent any resurgence of COVID-19, such as vaccination, following COVID-19 appropriate behaviour such as masking and physical distancing and adherence to standard operating procedures, are effective. These measures are the cornerstone in the fight against COVID-19, he said.
People should come forward and ensure that their near and dear ones, friends, colleagues and relatives get the first dose on Sunday, he said.