TN to hold 3rd edition of Mega Vaccination Camp on Sep 26: Health Minister

The Tamil Nadu government would hold its third edition of the Mega Covid Vaccination Camp on September 26, targeting to inoculate 15 lakh people, state minister Ma Subramanian said on Thursday.

The decision to hold the third vaccination camp follows the success of the first and second camps, which surpassed the targeted number of people receiving the jabs set by the health department.

Talking to reporters, Minister for Medical and Family Welfare Ma Subramanian said on September 12 the department conducted the first camp targeting 20 lakh people. However it surpassed the target by vaccinating 21.98 lakh people.

Similarly on September 19, during the second camp 16.43 lakh people were administered the covid vaccine as against the projected 15 lakh, he said.

Claiming that the Centre did not release vaccine doses to Tamil Nadu over the last few days, Subramanian said through efforts made by Chief Minister M K Stalin in the form of letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and health department principal secretary J Radhakrishnan calling on Union health ministry officials to enhance the doses to the state, five lakh vaccines were received yesterday.

"Following the meeting of DMK Parliamentary party leader T R Baalu with Union Health Minister (Mansukh Mandaviya), we are expecting 14 lakh vaccines to be released to the state. With the arrival of these vaccines, we will be holding third mega vaccination camp coming Sunday targeting to inoculate 15 lakh people through 20,000 vaccination camps," he said.

"Along with senior health department officials, I would be visiting Tiruchirappalli, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, and Cuddalore to monitor the vaccination exercise that day," he added.

On prevalence of dengue fever, the minister said in 2020, 2,410 people in Tamil Nadu were identified to be affected, while till September 2021, the number of those affected was at 2,733. "We have enhanced the testing to identify dengue fever with 76,000 tests being conducted. The department along with local administration have stepped up efforts to control the mosquito menace," he said.