Five lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccines arrive in Assam

Don't take Health department's protocols casually: CM

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Five lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccines have arrived in the State where the number of positive cases has crossed 3,000 in the past seven days. The situation led Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to appeal to the people not to take the COVID protocols issued by the Health Department casually. The present stock of vaccines may run for ten days.

The State Health department did seek 19 lakh doses from the Centre. The five lakh doses that have arrived in the State on Thursday and Friday have both Covishield and Covaxin.

According to sources in the State Health Department, if 50,000 people are vaccinated daily on an average, the five lakh doses will run for ten days. The new vaccines doses have been sent to the district headquarters as well. All district headquarters have been asked to give a certain number of vaccines to the private hospitals. Private hospital can't procure such vaccines themselves. They get them only through the Health department.

As many as 3,095 new COVID positive cases detected in the past seven days, and the average positive rate is 1.10 per cent. And most of the cases have been detected in Kamrup (M), especially at railway stations and airports, sources said. The State had 3,613 active cases till Thursday.

A significant change in this wave of COVID-19 is that unlike the last wave people of all age groups are found to be infected. Since child and teenagers are also infected, most of them are asymptomatic because of their immunity power. Such patients may get cured by virtue of their strong immunity but may spread the virus among the older members of their families, Health department sources said.

The rising number of fresh COVID-19 positive cases has led the Chief Minister to appeal to the people of the State not to take the COVID protocols of the Health department casually. "Every citizen should follow COVID-appropriate behaviour. In the last wave of the virus, we're one of the best COVID controlling States. If we're casual now, we can't fight the virus," Sonowal said.

Health department sources have further said that they have adequate number of beds, medicines and other equipment in hospitals. "If people remain alert, we can overcome this phase without much harm," a source in the department said.

Also watch: Assam 18th Worst Hit by COVID-19: Union Health Ministry

Also Read: COVID Vaccine 'scarcity': Assam seeks 19 lakh doses from the Centre