COVID-19: Telangana govt starts vaccination for elderly, disabled

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has begun administering the COVID-19 vaccines for elderly and disabled people staying in old age homes. State chief secretary Somesh Kumar, who visited an old age home at Bansilalpet in the city on Sunday said that 24 mobile medical units have also been deployed in the GHMC area to undertake the vaccination drive.

During his visit to the old age home, Somesh Kumar flagged-off mobile vans or the mobile medical units that have been put into use to vaccinate elderly and disabled people staying in various old age homes in the GHMC area. The mobile unit will comprise of a doctor, a pharmacist and an auxiliary nurse midwives.

Somesh Kumar also stated that the Telangana government is fully geared up and prepared to handle a third COVID-19 wave, by improving health infrastructure, strengthening human resources, capacity building, vaccinating high exposure groups and setting up 19 diagnostic centres across the state.

The state government today will also inaugurate 19 new diagnostic centres to help deal with COVID-19 and aso other ailments. Later on Sunday, Somesh Kumar also inaugurated a vaccination centre at the Union Bank of India (Andhra Bank) regional office Koti where the employees and family members of Union Bank employees were
being vaccinated.

He congratulated general manager of the bank Kabir Bhattacharya and officials for taking up the vaccination drive
for the employees and their family members through various private hospitals. Last week, the state government also began a vaccination drive to administer the vaccine to cab and taxi drivers in Telangana.

More than two lakh auto, cab, taxi and maxi cab drivers will be vaccinated in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), at ten centres over the next two weeks or so as part of special vaccination drive for high risk groups.