The government hospitals in the city are seeing fewer admissions after the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the last few days. Most of those admitted are the middle aged persons and senior citizens who refused to get vaccinated.
In the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, where 240 patients are under treatment, 70 are unvaccinated. All the patients in intensive care unit in the hospital have contracted the delta variant, said Dean E. Therani Rajan.
Of the 17 patients in the ICU, only two have taken both doses of the vaccine but in these people age and comorbidities were a factor, he said.
On why the remaining 15 were not vaccinated, the Dean said they were apprehensive of the comorbidities becoming worse. These patients had cardiac ailments, diabetes, hypertension and stroke. A centenarian who got infected had refused to get vaccinated, he said.
At the Stanley Medical College, 190 patients have been admitted. Of these, 12 are in the ICU and seven are fully vaccinated.
Three persons had taken one dose and only two persons were unvaccinated. Dean P. Balaji said the lower literacy level among the residents of the localities the hospital catered to had ensured greater focus from the government to get them vaccinated.
Persons who were admitted to the ICU had co-morbid conditions and had been transferred from private hospitals.
“They were found to have been infected while being taken for surgery,” he added.
At the Government Medical College Hospital, Omandurar Estate, which is a dedicated COVID care hospital, 141 persons have been admitted and 10 are in the ICU. “Eight of them are not vaccinated. As many as 20 are not on ventilator but on oxygen support. Of these, 10 are not vaccinated. Generally, it is only lethargy and fear arising from comorbidities,” said Dean R. Jayanthi.
As many as 115 COVID-19 patients have been admitted to the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, said Dean Santhimalar.
