Journalists in Odisha to get Booster Dose Soon

Insight Bureau:  As part of its preparedness during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic amid Omicron scare, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday asked the district authorities to ensure that Journalists particularly field reporters get the booster dose of the vaccine on priority as they also come under frontline workers.

However, the booster dose can only be taken 9 months after the administration of the second dose, as per the Central Government guidelines.

While reviewing the COVID-19 situation in the State, the CM said that now the Covid situation is under complete control. So he has appealed to the people to abide by all the rules of the Covert without fear.

Addressing the meeting, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra said that as per the instructions of the Chief Minister, all the coveted hospitals in the State have been made operational and arrangements have been made for medicines and other essential items. “Every effort has been made to ensure that people’s livelihoods are not affected,” he said.

Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Health, R.K. Sharma compared the situation in the world, the country and the State to the current state of affairs and said that the third wave was now at its peak. The number of new patients in the State is between 10,000 and 11,000 per day, but the number of patients being hospitalized is very low.

There are 11,281 beds for covid patients in the State, of which only 11% Covid patients are being treated in the hospital. He said the State have an abundance of medicines, oxygen and other essentials.

Informing about the vaccine, he said that 82.8% had taken the first dose and 40.8% had taken the second dose of Covid vaccines. He noted that 45.7% of children between the age of 15 and 18 were vaccinated and 14% of booster doses are administered in Odisha so far.