People above 60, those with comorbidities can get Covid vaccine at dist hospitals: K'taka minister
Bengaluru: Karnataka Minister for Medical Education Dr Sharan Prakash Patil on Tuesday said people above 60 years and those with comorbidities can get vaccinated for the Covid-19 from January 3 onwards at the district hospitals in the wake of rising infections of JN-1 sub-variant.
The minister, however, underlined that there was no need to panic and urged people to take precautionary measures to tackle the spread of the virus.
In the wake of rising cases of JN-1 sub-variant of Covid-19 in the state, the minister convened a meeting with the heads of medical institutions and hospitals coming under the purview of the medical education department along with the head of the Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee and its members here.
Patil reviewed the prevailing situation and took stock of the preparedness to tackle Covid-19 in the state.
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After the meeting the minister said in a statement that there was no specific direction from the Central government on new vaccines.
"We will give the same vaccines that were administered during the first and second wave of the pandemic and the people above 60 years and those with comorbidities can get vaccinated at district hospitals from Wednesday," Patil said.
According to him, the experts have opined that the JN-1 sub-variant is likely to spread rapidly but unlikely to cause serious health issues. So there was no need to panic.
He also said that the government will not issue orders making masks mandatory but people need to be careful at crowded places.
"Even though the WHO and many health experts have stated that the JN-1 sub-variant is unlikely to cause serious health problems for infected people, I've instructed the officials to be vigilant and take precautionary measures and create awareness among the people. The state has received 30,000 Covid vaccines from the Centre and we have taken all the steps to prevent shortage," said the minister.
Clarifying about the availability of medicine, oxygen beds and equipments, the minister denied cash crunch regarding purchase of those items. He said a proposal will be sent to the finance department regarding purchase of equipments and recruitment of staff in some hospitals.
Explaining the cause of death of the 10 people who died in the state recently, Dr Patil denied that Covid was the cause and said that the patients had been suffering from various diseases. He further added that nine out of 10 people were suffering from heart, kidney and other ailments and one person from Mangaluru was an alcoholic and was not vaccinated.
Regarding the meeting with the officials, the minister said he has directed the officials to reserve 50 beds for Covid patients in each district hospital According to him, 18,141 beds in medical colleges, 10,000 in government hospitals and 11,500 beds coming under the Health and Family Welfare department are available for Covid patients.
The minister said testing capacities and healthcare facilities will be augmented in all districts and arrangements have been made for separate oxygen beds and ICUs in all government medical institutions Stating that 30,000 vaccines are presently available, Patil appealed to people who have missed vaccination and booster shots to avail of this facility.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
