Tamil Nadu has sought approval for establishing 19 district government headquarters hospitals and an allocation of ₹950 crore — ₹50 crore for each hospital — from the Union Health Ministry, Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said on Wednesday.
The Minister, who attended a national review meeting on the COVID-19 vaccination in New Delhi, earlier met Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and submitted a petition comprising 11 demands of the State.
At the meeting, the need to complete the administration of the first dose of vaccines across the country by November-end was discussed.
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A list of persons due for the second dose was also discussed. Mr. Subramanian told reporters that he pointed out that 12 lakh persons were waiting for the second dose of Covaxin in the State and urged the Union Minister to provide at least 10 lakh doses at the earliest.
As for the admission to the 11 new government medical colleges, he said the admission of 850 students had already been approved, while the State urged the Union Health Ministry to grant approval for the remaining 800 seats. He was confident of getting the approval for all seats and starting the admissions this year.
Expediting the construction work for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Madurai, a new AIIMS in Coimbatore and the establishment of 25 new primary health centres were among the demands. The Minister added that the government’s stand on vaccinating persons aged below 18 was sought. A demand to exempt Tamil Nadu from the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test was also put forward. Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine T.S. Selvavinayagam and Director of Medical Education R. Narayana Babu were present.
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