Bengaluru: In response to an increase in JN-1 sub-variant infections, the Karnataka Minister for Medical Education, Dr. Sharan Prakash Patil, announced on Tuesday that individuals over 60 and those with comorbidities would be able to receive the Covid-19 vaccination at district hospitals starting on January 3.
But the minister emphasized that people shouldn’t panic and advised them to take preventative steps to stop the virus from spreading.
The minister called a meeting with the heads of hospitals and medical facilities under the jurisdiction of the medical education department, as well as the head of the Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee and its members, in response to the state’s increasing number of JN-1 sub-variant cases.
Patil assessed the current state of affairs and assessed the state’s readiness to address COVID-19.
The minister stated in a statement following the meeting that the central government had not given any specific instructions regarding 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 stated.
He states that experts believe the JN-1 sub-variant will spread quickly but is unlikely to result in major health problems. So there was no reason to get alarmed.
When describing the causes of the ten recent deaths in the state, Dr. Patil rejected the idea that Covid was the reason, stating instead that the patients had a variety of illnesses. Nine out of ten had heart, kidney, or other illnesses, he continued, and one Mangaluru resident was an alcoholic who had not received a vaccination.
The minister stated that he has instructed the officials to set aside 50 beds in each district hospital for Covid patients following their meeting with the officials. He claims that 18,141 beds in medical schools, 10,000 in public hospitals, and 11,500 in the department of Health and Family Welfare are designated 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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