Notwithstanding the misinformation campaign launched by some forces, four districts of Jammu and Kashmir have achieved the target of 100 percent vaccination in the above 45 years category. Ganderbal, Shopian, Jammu, and Samba districts have achieved this target while an aggressive vaccination drive is going on in the remaining 16 districts of the Union Territory.
Jammu and Kashmir is among the leading regions in the country in vaccination of above 45 years age group having vaccinated 66 percent of its eligible population which is well above the national average of 32 percent.
During a meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary, Ajay Kumar Bhalla, to review the management of the COVID19 pandemic, Chief Secretary of J&K, B V R Subrahmanyam said that the J&K has enhanced both testing and vaccination capacities. "The early detection of infection has allowed for timely medical intervention, whereas vaccination was found to reduce the severity of disease in patients - both strategies have been successful in restricting COVID-related fatalities in the UT", he added.
Caseload comes down; reduction in positivity rate within two weeks
In J&K, the daily number of COVID positive cases has reduced from an all-time high of 5500 to 2200 in two weeks. During the same period, J&K has also witnessed a reduction in the case positivity rate from 13 percent to 6.2 percent. Districts having higher vaccination rates reported lower positivity rates, thus establishing a correlation between vaccination and the success of containment measures.
Virus spread in rural areas of J&K
Chief Secretary informed that in J&K more cases are now being reported from rural than urban areas, adding that such cases are as high as 55 percent and 60 percent in Jammu and Kashmir divisions, respectively.
To augment medical infrastructure and facilities in the rural areas to control the virus, the Government has recently adopted a strategy to establish five-bedded COVID care facilities with at least one oxygen supported bed at approximately 4000 Panchayats to provide immediate medical care to the Corona positive patients who can then be referred to higher-level facilities in case of emergency. Additionally, 33,000 COVID care medical kits have been distributed for usage by patients in home isolation.
500-bedded DRDO hospital to start function from Wednesday in Jammu
The twin 500-bedded temporary hospitals being established by the Defence Research and Development Organization will commence operations at Jammu from Wednesday and at Srinagar from July 1, thereby greatly reinforcing the COVID dedicated medical infrastructure in the Union territory. The Chief Secretary requested that to establish continuous oxygen supply to these facilities, two dedicated oxygen tankers for these hospitals be provided to the J&K.
