TN health department says 1.3 crore remain unvaccinated, urges people to take the jab soon

The Tamil Nadu Health department said that 1.3 crore eligible people in the state are yet to take the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 73 lakh more were due to receive the second shot.

The state Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said that the state recorded 2,011 COVID deaths in August, September and October. He added that only 5 per cent of people who have taken the vaccine have died while the remaining 95 per cent population who died had not taken the vaccine or had just taken the first dose.

As many as 109 people who died even after vaccination had some sort of co-morbidities and/or delayed treatments, Radhakrishnan said. According to the data shared by the officials, out of the 95 per cent who died of COVID-19, 84 per cent of them were completely unvaccinated while 11 per cent had taken their first jab.

Radhakrishnan insisted that people be made aware of the fact that vaccines are lifesavers against COVID-19 and urged all eligible people to take the jab. He said, "According to health data, the risk of an unvaccinated person dying due to COVID-19 is 3.5 times more than that of a vaccinated person. This is one of the substantial (pieces of) evidence available with us that would make a common man understand the importance of vaccination and the need to take vaccines at the earliest."

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Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian, told IANS, that the Health Secretary has directed all district collectors to make people aware of the importance of vaccination against COVID-19. The minister said, "We have asked the district collectors to communicate this data to the people down to the grassroot level and appeal to them to take the jab. We have an ample quantity of vaccines."