The government hopes to vaccinate all 21,435 adivasis in the Nilgiris against COVID-19 by the end of the current month, said Minister for Medical and Family Welfare, Ma. Subramanian in Udhagamandalam.
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Mr. Subramanian told reporters here on Sunday that there were a total of 21,435 adivasis in the Nilgiris, of whom only 3,000 persons have been vaccinated. The Minister said he had visited the tribal hamlet of Chemmanatham in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve along with state forest minister, K. Ramachandran, Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan and the Nilgiris Collector J. Innocent Divya.
All 172 people residing in the hamlet will be vaccinated and a special drive was planned to vaccinate all adivasis in the Nilgiris by the end of June. He said that 18,000 vaccines will be brought to the Nilgiris for this purpose in the coming days.
Mr. Subramanian said the State had received 1.15 crore COVID-19 vaccines till date. Another 42 lakh vaccines will reach Tamil Nadu in June, with 5.5 lakh vaccines having already reached the State this month.
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Mr. Subramanian, along with forest minister K. Ramachandran, health secretary J. Radhakrishnan and Nilgiris collector J. Innocent Divya, also inspected the construction of the Government Medical College and Hospital in Udhagamandalam and also the oxygen storage tank in Udhagamandalam.