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.
ALSO READ: K'taka registers 296 new Covid-19 cases and one death
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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New trains to ease crowding on Namma Metro Purple-Green lines in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: Commuters on the crowded Namma Metro Purple and Green lines may soon get relief, as the Railway Board has issued provisional sanction for induction of new train sets, Deccan Herald reported.
The Railway Board communicated the provisional sanction to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) in a letter on April 1, raising hopes that additional trains could be deployed during peak hours by May-June.
According to the Railway Board, the approval comes with conditions, including a maximum speed of 80 kmph in fully inflated mode and 25 kmph in deflated mode of the secondary air spring.
The BMRCL will also need a separate sanction from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) by submitting the Independent Safety Assessment (ISA) report confirming the trains’ integration, operation, and compatibility with the Direct To Go (DTG) signalling and train control system for the Purple and Green lines.
The BMRCL has received three DTG trains, including a prototype delivered in January 2025, for the Purple and Green lines. The trains must pass 37 statutory clearances before entering passenger service.
The BMRCL had approached the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), under the Ministry of Railways, to conduct statutory trials related to oscillation, braking, speed and system integration tests for the trains. The CMRS will issue the final sanction after receiving the ISA certificate.
Officials said the ISA certification process is already underway, with new signalling software currently being tested. Final approvals are expected by May-June, after which the trains can be introduced into service.
The new trains have been supplied by China's CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co Ltd, which will deliver a total of 21 trains for the Purple and Green lines in partnership with the West Bengal-based Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd (TRSL). Currently, the network operates with 57 trains supplied by BEML.
